


Her Love Line

by lazymusey



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Slice of Life, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:07:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28282932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazymusey/pseuds/lazymusey
Summary: Everyone loves Sana. The problem is, Sana doesn't know what love is. Or rather, who her real love is.The AU where everyone has a piece of Sana's heart, but who will fill her whole heart with love in the end?
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Minatozaki Sana, Hirai Momo/Minatozaki Sana, Kim Dahyun/Minatozaki Sana, Minatozaki Sana/Park Jisoo | Jihyo
Comments: 18
Kudos: 53





	1. Prologue

_Her forehead creased with fascination as the piece of paper was being folded patiently by her friend. What was once a long strip of blue paper, had turned into a puffed out small star as the girl she calls Saa-chan proudly holds it in between her chubby little fingers with a grin._

_“Here, this is yours.”_

_“Really? I… can have it?”_

_“Mm!” She smiled, puffing her chest out. “I can make thousands of it in a day.”_

_The little girl nodded with her mouth agape, holding the little star lightly as if it will crumble if she handles it just a tad roughly. They watch silently as the younger twirls the star on her palm, having their own thoughts about the small little thing._

_“Papa taught me this.”_

_“Uncle did?”_

_“Yeah.” Little Sana rolled on her back, the other followed suit as they face the open window of their supposedly secret tree hut._

_“He said I should wish upon the stars if I want something. But, you know... stars are so far away, how can my thoughts reach them just by thinking about it? You get it?”_

_The younger one merely nod in agreement, not really sure what it meant, but she do get it in some way._

_“So papa said to write my thoughts in a strip of paper like this, and fold it into a star. That way, the fairy would bring it to the stars above when they come at night.”_

_“W-Wait... fairy?”_

_“Oh, don’t worry. They’re harmless. I’ve met once.”_

_“Eh?!”_

_“That’s a story for later.” Sana waved it off, before taking the star from her friend’s hand and point it outwards toward the sky._

_“You miss your mom and dad, right?”_

_The little girl was silent, thinking for a while before shrugging. “I… guess so?”_

_“What with that reaction? You should miss them!”_

_She chortles when she received a slap from her frowning friend, “Fine, fine.” She smiled while looking up at the sky. “I do miss them... so much.”_

_She whispered the last words but Sana caught it nonetheless, taking the former’s hand in hers and entwining their fingers together._

_“Whenever you miss your mom and dad, make a star for each of them. Then, put it in a jar on the table. The fairy will come at night and send the thoughts to them.”_

_“Will it work on a living person, too?”_

_“Of course! Well… I guess? But who knows? You should try it!”_

_She nodded, a cute dimple showing on her left cheek. “I will!”_

She gently stroked the big transparent jar filled with stars of all kinds of purples, hoping her deep, unspoken thoughts will reach the person she’s currently missing. A hand clutches a spot above her chest where her heart is, the thudding slowly disappears as if it is losing life, losing light and numbness is all it wants.

Sana is all she wants.

Sana is all she needs.

To live, to breathe, to be alive.

But no, Sana is not hers, never hers.

Sana belongs to the people deserving of her love, deserving of giving her the love... and she was never one. Their love line never crossed, never will.

The chiming of her phone alarm break her reveries of imaginary desire buried deep in her heart.

A message pops up, signalling her shift at the hospital will start in half an hour.

Taking a deep breath, she straightens her slump back. Reaching for her sling bag and jacket, she steps out of the dark room towards the cold crisp air of January night. Puffs of breath visible as she lets out a deep sigh. Turning on her heels, she drags her own weight to fill in the work for tonight, and hopefully, gives her the strength to forget all the sorrows trailing along her black shadow.

_“Love works in a miracle way, so have patience, dear... Love will find its way to you, soon.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has been collecting dust in my pc since 2 years back but I was contemplating to publish it because I don't have confidence in my writing eheh but what the heck I decided to just post it so everyone can enjoy the agony and bliss of this slife of life au. Just a heads up that there will be multiple Sana pairings (as listed), but who will end up with Sana in the end?
> 
> Do check out my current [MiMo AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25928968/) if you are interested!
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Will be added in the notes. There will be mention of death (minor characters only) and slow burn, possibly no mature content since I want everyone to enjoy this without restrictions and with innocent mind. This is a long story so please bear with me and enjoy the ride! I'd like to know your favourite Sana's pairing too so do comment down below!
> 
> I'm public-ing (is that even a word) my twitter so you can follow me there: @museybemused in case you want to see me fangirling about twice with my incohereble screams and blabberings.
> 
> Thank you for your comments, subscription, kudos and even giving this a read! Stay safe and take care <3


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Sana met with the little sorcerer who just moved in next door.
> 
> Spoiler alert: the young sorcerer is Made in Taiwan.

In a supposedly secret small tree house perched atop a maple tree, a binocular is peeking out from a small slit of a wooden window. A pair of eyes is stealthily ogling the neighbor's house for the whereabouts of the scary witch disguising as an old woman, but found none. She frowned, it has been almost a week since she last saw the light of the front porch turns on. Scurrying down the tree, she runs through the backyard along the obstacles of mainly her scattered toys, smashing the kitchen door with her small body which alerts the pretty woman currently washing the dishes.

“Sana!” She heaved a deep breath, “Gosh that scared me. What did I tell you about walking in like a normal girl?”

“But I don’t want to be normal… we’ve talked about this, Mama!”

She sighed, wondering what is going on in the mind of her innocent nine years old daughter. Blame her husband for spoiling the kid too much.

“By the way,” She caught her attention again, “Did granny died?”

She almost fainted, if not for her husband who had just walked in. After dragging her almost passed out wife to a chair, he guffawed heartily after listening to the repeated question. Her wife glares, but he was unfazed. They’ve lived together for more than 10 years, anyway.

“No, Sana. She’s still well and alive.” He kneeled down to her level, “She went back to her hometown for some family matters. She’ll be back soon.”

“That’s a relief.”

They shared looks, wondering whose trait did their daughter inherit to be this intelligent and quirky for a kid her age. They argued most of the time that it’s theirs, of course, only when the manner is favorable. Satisfied with the answer, she quickly bid her parents good night, running up the stairs to her own room to continue her daily activities of a curious growing kid.

The next day, she lazily sings to herself in the tree house while lying on her back, legs perched on top of the window sill as her hands make random shape of animals. She’s bored; the old witch is missing and she has no one to play with except, well, herself. The sound of a car engine from the house next door caught her attention, her feet scrambling to peek through the window. She gasped, seeing two unfamiliar visitors alongside the old woman.

 _Oh no! She brought along her evil sidekicks_ , Sana thought.

Rushing to search for her one dollar binocular among her piled up toys and plushies, she quickly gets back to spying on her neighbor. Once her sight fell on the little girl, she gasps. The newcomer is pretty with her straight back and long raven hair, ears slightly protruding from the tresses. Just as she was deeply gawking on the girl, a voice calls her name.

“Saa-chan!”

She gasps again, this time loudly, finding the old woman waving her hand towards her. She quickly dodged under the window sill, relieved she was quick in hiding from the evil stare of the old witch. The latter must have found the legendary secret book of wizardry craft, trying to hypnotize Sana with a new spell she had created when she went back to her hometown. A head peeks out slowly along with the binocular, only to see a red monster standing beside the witch with folded arms and glaring eyes.

 _“Yabai!”_ She crouched again.

“Minatozaki Sana!”

Hearing the threatening tone of her mother, Sana hurried down the tree before approaching them with both hands on her back and a smile adorning her face, acting as innocent as she can be with smudge of dirt on her right cheek.

“Looks like the evil witch win again, huh?”

Sana huffs with a pout, “It’s not fair, granny! You have the red monster as your ally...”

Sana eyed her mother indignantly, before averting her gaze to her dirty shoes and feigned ignorance when she saw her mother's shocked face. The supposedly red monster points a finger to herself in disbelief. “What? Wait, m-me? I’m the red monster?!”

The old woman laughed while patting the stunned mother’s back, at the same time sharing a fist bump with the smirking Sana. The latter jumps happily when she received a box of chocolate from her old neighbor. She grins when she found the familiar _MADE IN CHINA_ written at the back, satisfied with the genuinity of the product. As she is checking her gift, she sensed someone looking at her with interest. She raised her head to be met with the curious stare of the girl she was stalking earlier.

“Umm… hi?” Sana greets in her perfect kindergarten level of _Hangul_. A line appeared on the girl’s forehead. Realizing she doesn’t know any Korean words yet, Sana tried again in a different way.

“Good morning!”

Hearing the chirpy and loud _ohayou_ from the girl, laughter erupts from the older women. Her mother pats Sana’s shoulder, saying the girl wouldn’t know what that meant and to try again. Scratching her head in confusion, Sana thinks hard before a light bulb flashes in her head when she met eyes with the smiling granny.

“Ni - hao - ma?”

That’s when the blank eyes had a bit of life as she responded, happy that finally someone is speaking in a language she knows, only that she had bombarded Sana with too many foreign words, the latter starts to get dizzy with the strange pronunciations.

She only knows another word the granny had taught her before and that is, “Wo… aini?”

Red hues adorn the stranger’s cheek; Sana thought she was about to fall sick.

“Um, I don’t know if this works or not, but papa always give me chocolate when I’m sick so…” She reached out the open box, “Here?”

The girl merely stares at the chocolate, causing Sana to panic from the knowing stare. “Ah, you can’t have all of it! Granny gave it to me as a gift. It’s expensive and rare, you know?”

She still stares at Sana and the chocolate without blinking. Letting out a sigh, Sana relents as she pushes the box into the girl’s hand. “Fine, take it. Just because I’m a great friend.”

A dimpled smile appears, causing Sana to freeze on her spot as she dumbly watches the girl break a piece of her sacred gift. She shoves one in front of Sana’s lips, prompting the girl to automatically open her mouth to taste the heavenly goodness of an imported chocolate.

“Share?”

Now this word was foreign, but Sana had at least watched countless of Pocoyo on youtube to understand what it means. With a nod and a wide toothy grin, Sana took the girl’s hand for a handshake.

“Share!”

*

Sana is trying hard to befriend her new neighbor, but using sign languages and body gestures with perfect abilities of her five senses just seem to take a huge toll on her patience. Pocoyo isn’t helping either, sadly. She grumbles, screaming frustratingly in her pillow as she recalls the scene earlier. They were supposed to play hide and seek like how kids their age are supposed to, only that she was the only one excitingly hiding for an hour, while the girl is happily sitting on the same spot while doodling on her picture book.

“Does she hate me?”

Older people said the one thing to do when you meet with bad people, is to avoid them. Perhaps, Sana is a bad person in the new neighbor's eyes. Maybe Sana is indeed a bad person; she doesn’t even know the girl’s name. She rushes down the stairs to be met with her mother sipping tea with a book on her lap.

“Mama!”

“Yes, dear?”

“Do you know the young sorcerer’s name?”

Her left eye twitched, “The what?”

“The young sorcerer’s name... you know, our new neighbor?”

She closed the book on her lap, massaging her forehead from her daughter’s imaginary but creative naming of people. At least sorcerer is better than a red monster, whatever that is. She wouldn’t want to know.

“Sana, you can’t call people like that.”

“That’s why I asked if you know her name.”

The innocent eyes _almost_ fooled her, quote almost, but she knows her daughter so much. This kind of absurd behavior definitely comes from her father’s teaching.

“Did you ask her yet?”

“If we’re both from Mars, I’d know by now.” Sana groans while rolling her eyes.

 _Yep, obviously from her father_.

“Have you tried other ways?”

The girl’s head tilted curiously. “Such as?”

Her mother thinks for a solution, before pulling out a notebook and a pencil from the nearby cabinet. “Here.”

“Eh? You want me to draw her, mama?”

“No, Sana.” She shakes her head amusedly from her daughter’s response. “Why don’t you ask her to write her name and perhaps, draw the things you want to do in here, hm? Just, draw anything…?”

Her forehead scrunched, deep in thought. It doesn’t make sense. How can she understand what to write when her new neighbor can’t even comprehend what she’s asking? Yep, didn’t make sense at all. She nods anyway, slowly taking her leave as her mother smiles contentedly at her departure and resumes her reading.

Sana takes a detour, snatching a piece of cookie her mother just baked that morning,before her eyes fell on her mother’s charging phone abandoned on the kitchen’s table top. Her eyes shine as she thought of a better idea.

The new girl is busy trying to read an article from a newspaper which had recently been the wrapper of her grandmother’s vegetables, when she heard loud footsteps running her way. The girl, her new neighbor she remembers, stops before her, taking out a device before typing something. Sana shows the blinding screen on the sorcerer’s face, her eyes squinting to read what seemed to be a google translate webpage. There are some wrong words, but she understands nonetheless.

“Chou Tzuyu.”

Sana tilts her head. “Cho Chiyu?”

“Tzuyu.”

“Che... wy?”

“Zi. Yu.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said... Che. Wy.”

Tzuyu blinks, unable to give another response as she let the mispronunciation of her name slides. Not that she knows how to argue in this new language. Sana points to herself giddily, assuming Tzuyu’s silence as her turn to do the same.

“Minatozaki Sana!”

Tzuyu blinks twice. “Ha?”

Sana scratched her cheek, thinking her family’s name is too long, even for her. It took Sana almost a month to remember each syllable one by one when she was in pre-school.

“Just Sana is fine.”

The girl scratched her raven hair. “…ha?”

Sana sighed, it’s really hard trying to make friends.

“Sa. Na.” She again points to herself with each sound of her name.

“Sana?”

“Correct!” She replied with her broken English.

Tzuyu nods, waiting again for anything else this Sana wants to say before returning her attention back to the appeal of black and white pictures on the newspaper. Taking a seat beside Tzuyu, Sana continues to type in her mother’s phone as Tzuyu watches expectantly from the side.

“Where... are… you… from…” Sana said aloud while typing, Tzuyu reading the translated sentence popping on the parallel box.

She quickly answered with a short, “Taiwan.”

“Taiwan… Ah!”

**Same as old witch**

“Old witch?” Tzuyu's eyebrows knitted together.

**Old woman**

Sana points to the kitchen area where the supposed old witch is cooking dinner. Tzuyu giggles from the silly title Sana had given to her guardian.

**My grandmother**

Sana bobs her head in understanding. No wonder they have the same scary aura, she thought. She then remembered another occupant of the house she had saw the other day, an older boy playing with Tzuyu in the backyard.

**Where is your brother?**

Again, Tzuyu’s forehead scrunched from confusion. She gives an incredulous look to Sana as if she’s delusional or something.

**I do not have a brother**

Now, it was Sana who is confused. Did her mind played tricks or was she actually seeing something else? Well, the _ghost-san_ can wait for another time, Sana thought. She begins bombarding Tzuyu with so many questions she’s curious about but it was getting tedious to be typing so much, plus her writing vocabulary is still lacking in many areas. As they were taking a break, mainly it was Sana who suddenly turned silent and laid on her back, Tzuyu politely asked for the phone. She puts it on the ground between them before clicking a button, speaking like a kindergarten kid who had just learned to talk. Sana observes in amazement before she claps loudly when the phone speaks in a language she understands.

“Wow! How did you do that?”

Tzuyu points to the gadget, prompting Sana to talk into it. They laugh from the translated version of Sana’s fascination, which didn’t seem as fascinated as the girls are. The new friends remain talking with the phone as their translator until late evening, when Sana’s mother finally realized her phone is missing and in the search for her precious LG chocolate, she had found it in the clutch of her sleeping daughter.

She cooed at the sight of Sana holding hands with her new partner-in-crime as they dozed off in the balcony with smiles on their faces. She definitely won’t miss this picture-worthy moment as she slowly retrieves her phone from her mischievous daughter and takes a snap. A bribe she can use against her daughter in the future, her mother thought with an evil grin.

*

“Nee, granny…”

The old woman stops her sweeping as a girl was sprawled on the floor, both limbs sticking out like a sore thumb. The girl waves the crumpled paper in her hand frustratingly.

“Why do I have to do this?”

“Why not?” She continues sweeping, despite the major roadblock of a smol human disrupting her daily chores.

“It’s hard, I can’t read the words.” She accusingly points a finger to the old woman with a scowl. “You tricked me into this, you old witch!”

The woman snickers, “But you agreed without a thought when Tzuyu asked you to.”

“That was…” Sana thought for a while with a pout, “She’s a friend. I can’t say no to a friend.”

She mumbles to herself. The woman heard her but paid no heed to her whining, only the corner of her lips lifted upwards in amusement.

“Why can’t I just use Mr Oogle instead?”

Sana pouts, her argument with her mother still clear in her mind albeit it was a few weeks back. She was reprimanded for using the phone without permission, but knowing Sana, the latter probably had millions of answers and excuses as her defending statement, all for the motive of befriending her new foreign neighbor. Her mother was strict with her way, but granny knows which weapon can be used to melt the hard-headed girl; the _MADE IN TAIWAN_ young sorcerer.

“Because you know that’s not going to help both of you to be better in Korean, Saa-chan. There are no shortcuts in life, only hard work will pay off. Okay?” She swats Sana’s bum with the broom. “Now move before I sweep you out of the room too.”

“Hmph! Meanie!”

She sticks her tongue out, only rolling her plump body over to the clean side of the floor. She continues her homework, reading Tzuyu’s letter with the help of granny and her book of dummy’s guide to translate the whole thing. It has become a weekly thing for them where they would exchange letters hidden in their secret spots and to decipher it to understand what the other is saying. The reward is to fulfill any request of the other, as they agreed on.

“Here.”

Sana’s mouth is open like a dead fish. She almost took the whole week to translate Tzuyu’s letter, but the latter had finished it only within two days.

“You cheated,” She squints her eyes, “Didn’t you?”

“Did not.”

“You bribed granny to do it for you.”

“Grandma did help me, but just a bit!” Tzuyu frowns, “I really did it all by myself…”

Sana keeps her glare while crossing her arms. She takes the letter, reading her own messy handwriting as Tzuyu speaks aloud of the content. It was embarrassing because her friend actually understood the meaning as she double checks with the old woman. She puffs out her cheeks as granny holds her laughter while Tzuyu scratches her nape shyly.

“Am I…” Tzuyu voiced out with a tinge of red on her cheeks, “Am I really pretty like Maleficent?”

“As stated by Saa-chan.” Granny nods, still with her teasing grin as she pats the back of the blushing girl before stooping close to Sana’s ear. “Tzuyu got first place in her Korean language exam last week, just so you know.”

She left the girls with a light giggle, Sana watching the witch’s retreating back in utter betrayal. Of course, she knows her granddaughter had no problem adapting to the new language; Tzuyu is a fast learner, she had actually converse easily with her teacher in just two months after she moved in. She still lacks in the writing part, but that can be dealt with easily with hard work and creativity; such as this game. Tzuyu tugs her friend’s sleeve with an eager smile, excited to get her reward. Letting out a sigh, Sana surrenders and admit defeat for the first time since they played the game months ago.

“Fine... What do you want?”

“Candy.”

She raised a brow. “Eh?”

“Caramel candy.” Tzuyu jumps on her toes, “That candy you gave me when I fell down with a scratched knee. Remember?”

“Ah…” Sana nodded, scratching her head as she recalls the mentioned candy. “Wait a minute.”

Sana runs back to her house, scrimmaging through the cabinet’s kitchen for her mother’s stash of hidden candy (which was found out easily by her daughter) and takes two pieces from the jar, hiding another piece in her pant’s pocket. She found Tzuyu crouching, watching the ants marching in a straight line on the ground. She shoves the candy in front of her face, startling the girl out of her concentration.

“Here.”

A grin quickly appears, together with the small indention on her left cheek as she takes the candy from Sana’s open palm. She pops it inside her mouth, humming in delight as the confectionery melts on her tongue. Sana watches her friend happily as she does the same, making the same noise as she savors the sweet buttery flavor.

“Mama is going to scold me later.”

“Why?”

“For stealing her candy.”

Sana grins, bits of the caramel stuck on her front tooth. Tzuyu, who was worried earlier, had hunched forward with laughter as she points at Sana’s mouth. They shared giggles, easily forgetting Sana’s doom with the red monster when she’s having dinner later.

As if it was a silent agreement, they continue the tradition of exchanging letters but this time, it was accompanied with the caramel candy from both sides since they really enjoy the creamy taste. Despite Sana’s misfortune of enduring a scold at least once a week by her mother for the disappearing candies in the cupboard, of course.

*

“How was your day in school, Sana?”

“Good.” The girl answered simply, before shoving a bit of rice into her mouth. “I asked Tzuyu about her parents today.”

Both Minatozaki paused their actions midway, stunned with the girl's blunt statement who had turned ten years old just a month ago. They had expected Sana’s response about school day will be the same as any other day; a short one sentence comprised of at least five words, as compared to her adventures and time spent with Tzuyu which probably lasted until her bedtime. But this, this was not what they had anticipated for.

They shared a look, not knowing where this conversation is going. They had never touched the sensitive topic with their daughter, let alone having intention of explaining the background of Tzuyu’s family when they are already familiar with the eight years old girl for almost a year now. Mr Minatozaki signals her wife to be calm and wait for Sana to speak.

“I didn’t know that they... that they’re gone.” Sana said after a moment of silence.

Her mother grasped her tiny hand as she saw her daughter’s quivering lips, still trying to chew the bits of rice in her mouth. She knows despite her rowdiness and blunt personality, Sana has a gentle and soft heart. She would cry even if her mother had accidentally killed a cockroach, regardless of her intense disgust for the creepy crawler.

“I didn’t know… I feel bad for asking Tzuyu about it but she was smiling and said that it’s fine.” She sniffs, her food already abandoned. “Is it - is it really fine, Mama?”

“Oh, sweetie…”

Mrs Minatozaki strokes her head in a loving manner, hoping it will ease her daughter’s sadness while her husband pulls her crying daughter in a comforting embrace. They let her cry silently while whispering words of consolation for their precious little Sana. After a while, Sana pulls away on her own, wiping her teary eyes and cheeks with the sleeve of her pajama.

“I feel bad, Papa… what should I do to make Tzuyu happy again?”

Her father pondered for a while before he thought of an idea. He wipes Sana’s tears and snots with a tissue, giving her daughter a smile.

“Do you remember the time I was always away because of my work?”

Sana nods despite her vague memories, but she does recall she misses her father a lot when she was still a toddler.

“What did I taught you to do when you miss me on those days?”

She squints her eyes for the memories, the scene replaying in her head as her eyes widen in recognition.

“The wishing stars!”

He bobs his head with a wide grin, waiting for his clever daughter to think on her own what she should do to cheer up her friend later when they meet again.

The day after, Sana made a beeline to her tree house after getting permission to stargaze with Tzuyu after dinner. It is the weekend, they don’t mind as long as Sana does her responsibility and chores beforehand. As she reached the tree, she found Tzuyu already waiting for her while gazing at the sky from her usual stalking spot. Sana surprised the latter as she pummels her friend with an embrace from the back.

“Sana…?”

“Have you waited long?”

Tzuyu shakes her head with a smile, “I just got here.”

Sana laid her chin on the girl’s shoulder, her breath tickling the latter’s ear which resulted in a giggling mess of the girls. Sana keeps teasing Tzuyu by tickling her waist, but the younger was faster to hold her hands together in a leash.

“What’s with you?” Tzuyu asked from the sudden skinship. Sana is mostly clingy when she’s either sad or mad, or just plain excited with something.

“I just like hugs. Don’t you like hugs?”

She peers back on her shoulder, meeting eyes with the pouty Sana.

“It has been a while since I’ve got one.”

Sana knew she had hit another nerve with the downcasted eyes of her friend. She tightens her hold on Tzuyu’s waist before lifting the younger girl up in the air. “Well, now you have it!”

“Kyaah!! Sana, put me down!”

They laugh together after Sana put her down, Tzuyu getting herself comfortable with the hug as she laid against Sana’s body. It’s warm and soothing, just like how her mother felt like.

“Nee, wanna know something neat?”

“What?”

“I can catch those stars for you.”

“Grandma said kids shouldn’t be lying, Saa-chan.”

“It’s true!” Sana whines, hitting her laughing friend on her arm. She released the hug, rummaging through her tote bag before showing colored papers and a pair of scissors with her signature TADA! pose.

“What are you doing?” Tzuyu asked, intently eyeing the materials spread before her. Sana gives her friend a smug grin, “Watch me.”

Her forehead creased with fascination as the piece of paper is being folded patiently by the older girl. What was once a long strip of blue paper, had turned into a puffed out small star as Sana proudly holds it in between her little fingers with a grin.

“Here, this is yours.”

“Really? I… can have it?”

“Mm!” She smiled, puffing her chest out. “I can make thousands of it in a day.”

The little girl nodded with her mouth agape, holding the little star lightly as if it would crumple if she handles it just a tad roughly. They watch silently as Tzuyu twirls the star on her palm, having their own thoughts about the small little thing.

“Papa taught me this.”

“Uncle did?”

“Yeah.” Little Sana rolls on her back, the other followed suit as they face the open window of their supposedly secret tree hut.

“He said I should wish upon the stars if I want something. But, you know... stars are so far away, how can my thoughts reach them just by thinking about it? You get it?”

The younger one merely nods in agreement, not really sure what it meant, but she do get it in some ways.

“So papa said to write my thoughts on a strip of paper like this, and fold it into a star. That way, the fairy would bring it to the stars above when they come at night.”

“W-Wait... fairy?”

“Oh, don’t worry. They’re harmless. I’ve met them once.”

“Eh?”

“That’s a story for later.” Sana waved it off, before taking the star from her friend’s hand and point it outwards toward the sky.

“You miss your mom and dad, right?”

Tzuyu was silent as she gazed up the sky, responding with a small shrug. “I… guess so?”

“What’s with that reaction? You should miss them! You should, you shouuld!” She chortles when she received a slap from her frowning friend, “Fine, fine!” Tzuyu grins, only for it to falter into a sad smile as she looks up to the stars. “I do miss them… so much.”

She whispered the last words but Sana caught it nonetheless, taking the former’s hand in hers and entwining their fingers together. “Whenever you miss your mom and dad, make a star for each of them. Then, put it in a jar on the table. The fairy will come at night and send the thoughts to them.”

Tzuyu tried to process the thought, thinking it might be true. There’s no harm in believing it, because Sana said so. She misses her mom and dad too. She wonders if they are well up there. She never thought of these feelings before, not when Sana had mention it yesterday.

“Will it work on living person, too?”

“Of course! Well… I guess? Who knows? You should try it!”

She nodded, a cute dimple showing on her left cheek. “I will!”

Tzuyu grabbed a pencil and a long strip from the mess they made, already thought of one wish to write for her first wishing star. Sana curiously observes her friend writing on the piece of paper, before gasping in surprise. The younger girl grins widely as she ignores the startled face of her friend, before mimicking her friend’s step-by-step folding.

“Oh! I did it!”

She holds it like a precious little trophy, before giving it to Sana who took it with a baffled look. “Why did you write that?”

“Because you’re my friend, Saa-chan.” Tzuyu merely shrugs with a grin. "And since I didn't get you a present for your birthday last month, so... "

Sana was supposed to be the one cheering her friend so why was she the one getting cheered up instead? Sana doesn’t know why her eyes are blurry or why Tzuyu is panicking but one thing she knows, she wants to be with Tzuyu for a long time. She wants them to be together, if not forever, but for however long they will for it to last.

Sana makes another star the next morning with a wish dedicated to her friend. She put hers in a small delicate jar decorated with some Swarovski stones she stole from her mother’s kitchen, along with Tzuyu’s tiny purple star. She digs a hole on her backyard right under her tree house and wraps the jar in a cloth she found by the sink. She pats it a few times, giving it a light kiss before burying it underground. She wants to keep it as a treasure, in case one day she turns old and decided to be forgetful (like granny) about her wish in the jar; their first wishes for each other. She wipes her sweaty forehead with a satisfied grin, only to be scolded for being a dirty mess when she gets back inside.

It doesn’t matter anyway. She’s happy because that’s what Tzuyu wished for.

The first wish she had ever received from a friend.

**_I wish Sana-chan will always be happy and keep on smiling because I love her smile the most._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An early gift for Sana's upcoming birthday since I'll be stuck serving other people for the whole week. Tbh, I already have like 10 chapters waiting to be publish but I don't want to spoil you guys more than it is so... ehehehe
> 
> Happy birthday, Sana-chan! Just do what you like, because you deserve it <3


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Tzuyu lives alone with her grandma, but she never feels lonely.  
> Not when the girl next door always trespasses her house like she owns it.
> 
>  **TW: Mention of death (minor characters), slight bullying/racism**  
>  Asterisk (*): Time jump

Chou Tzuyu is one really precious kid. Her parents had been wishing for a child for five years of their marriage, and to be granted one daughter was all they could have asked for. She was cherished a lot by family and relatives alike, growing up to be an obedient and kind child who is intelligent and independent, even as a toddler. It is family tradition that the first born of the first son is to receive all the blessings of the ancestors and relatives, including wealth and status. 

But greed is every man’s disease. 

Misfortune befall little Tzuyu, resulting in the loss of both her parents at the young age of six, along with the pride she holds as a Chou. Perhaps, she wasn’t really blessed by the ancestors; a curse, as her aunty claimed. She was forsaken by the whole Chou like a plague, abandoned to her own streak of bad luck. 

The girl didn’t understand anything from the mistreatment; she only knows she needed to smile. It was the last request from her mother before her parents went off for an errand in the city, to never return again. 

_“Zi Yu, you know what I love the most about you?”_

_She shook her head with a frown._

_“It’s your smile, honey.” Her chubby cheeks lifted, mirroring her mother’s as the latter pokes the dimple on her left cheek. “And this lovely spot here.”_

_She lets out a giggle as it tickles. She was given a kiss on her forehead, longer than the usual._

_“No matter what happens, Mom and Dad love you. Remember that, okay?”_

_“Okay, Mom.”_

_“Don’t forget to keep that smile on your face, Zi Yu.” Her father ruffled her hair playfully, earning a gleeful laughter from his child._

_“I know.” She nodded, her grin never leaving her face. “I love both of you, too. Come back soon!”_

The grin did leave her face, sadly. The warm feeling on her forehead from her mother’s kiss was still vivid, it almost felt like it was just yesterday when she bid them farewell for their journey. She didn’t mind the insult and name-calling from her cousins, along with the scornful look and cold treatment of her uncles and aunties. She smiled because that’s the only thing that makes her feel closer to her mother and father. The exploitation didn’t end there; they started calling her crazy. Her smile was not pretty, it was silly. Her speech was not proper, it was ludicrous. Her appearance was not prim, it was unkempt. These words keep getting provocative and offensive, Tzuyu wanted nothing more than to disappear. She preferred to be on her own, to the point she’s starting to feel the loneliness creeping in.

That’s when she received a visit from a stranger; an old lady from a land far away. The way she greet her, hug her, and kiss her, all of them reminds her of a familiar warmth. It was when she observed the similar smile on the old lady that she recalls; they resembled her mother.

“I’m sorry for not coming sooner.”

“It’s okay, grandma…”

Indeed, she really didn’t mind. Finally, someone is taking her away from this forsaken mansion of hell. Someone she can call, family. A mother of her mother, who wouldn’t judge her for being a curse, a pest, a stranger in the household. No questions were given to the woman when they pack her stuff and leave behind all the judging stares and emotionless farewell as they sneer in satisfaction. Tzuyu had sworn to herself she would follow her grandmother anywhere, even to the deepest of slums, as long as it’s out of this place she once called home. Surprisingly, she was glad she did that because for the first time in months after her parents’ death, her chest feels light and warm, like she can breathe, finally. 

She didn’t know where South Korea was, or how far it is from her hometown. She agreed to live there with her grandmother without any objection. It sounds lovely to her ears, better than her previous home. They made a stop in a small town, to be met with her young uncle, the youngest brother of her mother she never met. He was nothing alike the many uncles of her father’s side; he is gentle, kind, loving, and most of all, he knows how to make her laugh. Tzuyu warms up to him immediately. He too, agreed to live in South Korea since he was all alone in this place too. 

Tzuyu thought Korea would be similar as her hometown in Taiwan. She was definitely wrong. Everywhere she looked, everywhere she went, it was foreign. She didn’t understand a thing, only relying on her grandmother to relay what’s going on. She found out her uncle would be living in a dorm a town away from them soon. She was a bit saddened, already grown attached to her uncle with 12 years difference in age despite the short duration of time they spent. Tzuyu was afraid of being left, to be alone again because it was not a good feeling, she remembered.

That’s when she was met with her grandmother’s neighbour. She was warned earlier about the little kid of Minatozaki, somewhat rambunctious and mischievous, but a good kid, nonetheless. Her soon to be playmate, her grandma told, since she’s also alone in that house too. Tzuyu was nervous to meet her, but excitement overwhelms the lonely girl once they met. She was stunned to see the girl for the first time; dark brown hair cascading down her shoulders, with similar caramel eyes that shines brightly under the sun. A curious smile etched on her face, along with smudge of dirt painted on her left cheek. She can feel it somewhere deep in her heart, that despite being total opposites, they’re going to work things out somehow. 

*

True to her instinct, they became inseparable despite the two years difference in age. They play together, eat together, study together, even having sleepover on weekends inside their small tree house. They’re like two peas in a pod, Sana’s mother had mentioned. The only downfall of their closeness is their grades. Tzuyu is a grade lower than Sana due to her late enrolment while attending special classes in another school. Knowing Sana, the latter had done her thorough research about new student registration for Tzuyu to join in her class. It was to the extent that she persuaded her mother and pestering Tzuyu’s grandmother every single day, which caused them to concede to her request. Sure enough, Sana was ecstatic to hear the eight years old Tzuyu is going to be in her school next week.

“Chewyyyy!”

Tzuyu jumps down the stairs two steps at a time, making a beeline to the kitchen before snatching her lunchbox and an apple for breakfast. Just as she was about to reach the front door, a figure blocks her way.

“Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”

She gulped, frozen on the spot. Her grandmother’s strictness is never to be mess with. She can be a loving Mother Theressa and a commanding officer at the same time. 

“Umm, to school?” Tzuyu scratched her cheek nervously.

Her grandmother raised a brow, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Tzuyu checks her uniform and her bag; everything’s in place. Her eyes widen when a thought crossed her mind. Sana, who was peeking through the space between the old woman’s leg, watched curiously as her friend drops her bag to get back inside.

“Where is she going?”

“Follow her.” 

The woman tilts her head to the direction Tzuyu disappeared to, Sana gladly complies. She followed Tzuyu’s trail and found her friend sitting in front of an altar with two portrait pictures perched atop. She watches silently, listening to the whispering words of prayers by her friend.

“Mom, Dad… I’m going to a new school today with Sana. Please watch over both of us.”

Ending her prayer with a bow, Tzuyu slowly gets on her feet, only to be startled with her friend’s presence, patiently waiting with a gentle smile. Sana reached out a hand, “Let’s go?”

Tzuyu was never one fond of skinship. It was awkward for her since she had void of the emotion of being held after her parents’ death. But here she is, swinging hands with a humming Sana as they make their way to her friend’s school.

Wait, scratch that. It’s her school now, too.

A smile unconsciously made its way to Tzuyu's face, which didn’t go unnoticed by her giddy friend.

“Are you that happy holding hands with me?”

Tzuyu turns to her, a teasing grin plastered on her chubby face. She avoids Sana’s big eyes, suddenly her shoes are more interesting than the morning view. “Not really. It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“Eh? You’re embarrassed walking with me, Chewy?”  She panics when a frown replaced Sana’s cheeky smile. She quickly tightens her hold on her friend’s hand as she felt the latter was about to release. 

“N-No! It’s not that.” Tzuyu sheepishly rubs her nape. “I like holding hands with you.”

She heard something like a muffled squeal coming from her side, followed by a happy giggle. “Really?”

Tzuyu bobs her head firmly. “Mm.”

“Then never let go, okay?”

“Okay.” 

They shared a smile, before Sana realizing they’re going to be late if they’re not moving faster. They barely made it to the gate, the teacher shaking her head disapprovingly. But Sana already got her excuse planned as she mention of Tzuyu’s first day there. She was pardoned with a warning before they were escorted to their class by the teacher. Sana walks Tzuyu to her new class, sadly bidding her farewell and jumping into a good luck pose, before running to her own class on the other side of the building. Tzuyu takes a deep breath as she walks into her new class, hoping things will go well for the day.

“So? How was your first day at the new school?”

Her grandmother eagerly asked the girls as they each take a seat on the dining table. The sour look indicates it didn’t go too well for Tzuyu, that is, before Sana intervenes as she takes a sip of the orange juice on the table belonging to the old woman.

“A boy asked for her number.”

“WHAT?”

Tzuyu groans with palms on her face. She glares at her friend, who shrugs innocently before going to their fridge to rummage for snacks. The old woman is fanning herself with deep breaths, trying to calm down from exploding at this sudden shocking news.

“And then?”

Tzuyu frowns, “He ran away.”

Sana lets out a loud laugh as granny got more confused than she was before. She helps explained from her point of view, mentioning how Tzuyu’s face was so tense from surprise, the boy mistook her blank expression as a deadly glare. The girl in question just hides her heating face as her friend and grandmother cracks so hard from the embarrassing story.

“I think he actually pissed himself.”

“Sana, stop it…” Tzuyu whines but the old woman and her friend only slap their hands together in a high five. 

After calming down, much from Tzuyu’s forced begging, the girl finally reveals her first day which didn’t differ much than her previous school. It might take some time for Tzuyu to warm up to her classmates, but so far, everyone had been kind and helpful to her. However, there is one single thing that had been bothering her.

“Saa-chan?”

The said girl, who is munching on her sandwich after forcing granny to make one for her, turns her attention to her friend. 

“Hm?”

“Why is everyone asking me about you?”

“Well…” She ponders for a while, only to give a nonchalant shrug. “Beats me.”

Tzuyu found out the answer to her question after observing Sana in school, which was a different version of her friend when she’s at home. The rowdy and loud Sana that she knows, turns into a really prim and gentle person with a friendly aura surrounding her. It was the total opposite of who Sana is, and she was confused of this dual personality of hers.

“Eh? Is that so?” Tzuyu had told Sana of her concern, which the latter didn’t find it surprising at all. “I didn’t realize it, actually. That’s just how I normally act around people.”

“But you’re different when you’re with me.”

Sana tilts her head to the ceiling for a moment, before giving a wide smile to her friend. “I guess that’s the real side of me that only you know, Chewy!” 

She frowns, not really understanding the meaning. “What does that mean?”

“Let’s just say, it is our little secret that only you have the privilege of!” Sana winks, before giggling to herself and leave her friend stunned from the new information.

The next few days went well for Tzuyu after coming to term with the reason behind Sana’s popularity, despite the unwanted attention she received for being close with “Sana-unnie” and getting questions about her, boys and girls alike. Being the well-mannered kid she is, Tzuyu politely refuse the letters and gifts they had requested to pass to her popular friend, who seems unbothered with the fame. Sana casually shooed Tzuyu’s classmates away during lunchbreak as she drags the younger to their favourite spot for lunch. They share their lunchbox together, mostly Sana stealing from Tzuyu’s with the sole reason that her mother is not a good cook. Of course, it was just an excuse by her silly friend to share their meal because Tzuyu actually likes aunty’s “exquisite” cooking. 

“Should I start calling you “unnie”, too?”

“Eh? Why?”

“Everyone in class calls you Sana-unnie. I just thought that since I’m younger than you, I should do the same.”

Sana frowns from the reasons, “Are you uncomfortable with it?”

“Not really… It’s just –” Sana waits patiently, her gentle eyes prodding her friend that it’s fine to tell her. “Won’t it be kind of rude to you?”

“I don’t really mind.”

“Still…” 

Sensing the dissatisfaction in her voice, Sana responds back. “What about you?”

“Hm?”

“What do you feel about this?”

Tzuyu kept mum, contemplating her answer. It wasn’t a big issue for her, but the fact that calling Sana with an “unnie” somehow sounds more appropriate and endearing after listening from the others just makes her uneasy. She just want to try it and to fulfil her curiosity.

“I… still feel like it’s better if I call you like that.”

“Try it.”

“What?”

“Call my name.”

Her tongue feels a bit weird as the word rolled out from her lips. “Sana… unnie?”

“Oh, come on… Do it properly, Tzuyu!”

“Sana-unnie?” She tried it faster this time, the words blend perfectly well together.

“Yes?” Sana answered back with a teasing smile.

“Sana-unnie.”

Sana doesn’t know how to explain it, but it has a nice feel to it. It’s pleasant to her ears along with some fuzzy feeling she can’t describe. She’s starting to like it; and Tzuyu does too. It’s something new for the younger girl, but she feels a sense of fondness when she said it out loud. A feeling only both of them understand.

“Alright, I approve!”

“Eh, that’s it?”

“What else do you want, my dear dongsaengieee~?” She nuzzles on Tzuyu’s neck while patting her head, the latter giggling from the ticklish sensation.

“Stop it, Sana-unnie!”

“What did you say?”

“I said, stop it unnieee!” She prolongs the last word, just to mess with Sana.

“Cute.” The older whispered to herself, but Tzuyu caught it nonetheless, her ears slowly getting red. She quickly changed the subject before she became the subject of ridicule.

“Ah, I forgot to tell you something the other day when we went to the park.”

“What, what?” Sana excitedly asked, her body jumping up and down.

“I saw a squirrel eating on a tree and felt something familiar about it.” Tzuyu smirks mischievously. “It was you, when you were stuffing the whole donut in one bite. You and the squirrel really look alike, unnie.”

“What?!” Sana cries out in disbelief with this newfound information.

“Wait, on second thought, whatever you do resembles a squirrel.”

Tzuyu suppressed a laugh about to bubble up from her throat at the sight of the squirrel look-alike pouting with her protruding lips and chubby cheeks. Definitely a human squirrel, she thought.

“Oh yeah? Well…” Sana paused, eyes straying everywhere before they landed on Tzuyu’s face. “Ah! You have a hole on your cheek when you smile. Take that!”

She loudly laughs while clapping her hands in joy from her quick comeback, but soon stops when she see a frown appearing on Tzuyu’s face.

“W-What? What’s wrong?” She asked while trying to catch Tzuyu’s wandering eyes, the girl keeping her stares on her lap before glancing up with a dejected look. 

“Is it weird?”

Weird was an understatement; it was the most amazing thing aside from Tzuyu’s smile. Taking her friend’s hand, Sana gives a warm encouraging smile to the sad girl.

“Yeah, it’s weird.” Sana squeezed their joined hands gently, poking the invisible spot of Tzuyu’s dimple. “Because it makes your smile prettier.”

Truth to be told, the pretty smile appeared along with red hues colouring the tan complexion of Tzuyu’s face. Sana can’t seem to get enough of the view, she wants to imprint her friend’s face in her mind. If only they can borrow her mother’s LG phone. But for now, this front seat live view is enough. They’re going to spend most of their time together anyway now that nothing is in the way of their friendship. 

*

Except, bad things did get in the way when Sana noticed her friend was acting weird. Tzuyu wasn’t fond of skinship, she knew that. A few days back, she was rejected when she reached out for Tzuyu’s hand, the younger saying she has cooties. Not that Sana believed it, but she accepts anyway. However, refusing to walk together to school and having separate lunch is a bit too much. The main reason she requested for the transfer was so she could have Tzuyu as her partner, in like, literally everything. She asked many questions, whether she’s hating Sana or getting bored of Sana’s presence to having an unknown infectious disease with complicated names. Tzuyu merely shrugs it off, ignoring Sana for the whole day.

If only the older girl knows the truth, Tzuyu is sure she would be disappointed with her. A boy of Sana’s grade had confronted her the other day, confessing he likes Sana so Tzuyu should back off. The innocent girl didn’t pay any heed since she didn’t really understand what it meant. The next following day, he got his point across, stating that Tzuyu is a nuisance to the popular girl and since they’re always together, he didn’t get the chance to talk to Sana. Tzuyu was dumbfounded because she never meant to be a bother to anyone, let alone Sana. Because of her gullibility, Tzuyu listened to the boy, despite Sana’s whining and persistent forcing.

However, it wasn’t enough. The boy came searching for her again in class when everyone had left for PE session. Tzuyu quietly sits on her table, waiting anxiously what his intention is. It was horrible, and Tzuyu was almost close to crying.

“Yah, chinese girl. Are you stupid or something?”

Tzuyu kept mum, scared to say a word to the taller boy looming over her figure.

“Yeah, you’re definitely stupid. You’re just a nobody who came from a stinky country. No wonder your parents left you.”

Her eyes were wet but Tzuyu stopped the tears from falling.

“You just need to do one thing.” He scoffed, before getting his face closer, invading Tzuyu’s space. “Stay away from Sana. You’re not worthy of her time, so just disappear from here.”

He pushed Tzuyu’s shoulder roughly with a satisfied smirk.

“Or better yet, just die.”

Tzuyu quickly gets on her feet as the boy left, running to the washroom and locking herself inside a cubicle. She didn’t cry, she told herself not to but it was too painful to bear. It was the same hurtful feeling she felt when she was alone with the Chou family. The words were similar, but this time they cut deeper. She didn’t understand it before, because she was a kid. A kid who only knew how to smile despite the daily verbal abuse she received. She’s growing now and she’s grateful with what she has, with a loving family and caring friend, but some wounds do take time to heal. 

Tzuyu took a day off as she reasoned with her grandmother that she’s not feeling well, which saddens Sana the most. The girl insists that she will take care of Tzuyu but failed after getting into an argument with granny. She was chased away with a pout. That day, Sana was a bit aloof which didn’t go unnoticed by her friends. She was surprised though when one of her classmates gave a note from a boy, stating he wanted to meet her during lunch. 

“I like you.”

“Thank you.” Sana smiled apologetically, “But I don’t feel the same and I don’t know you.”

“Why not?” He grabs Sana’s wrist, causing the girl to wince in pain. “We can get to know each other, I know you’ll like me later.”

“I’m really sorry but can you please let go?” He was reluctant at first, but obeyed after seeing Sana’s discomfort. “Is it because of your friend? That chinese girl.”

“Eh? You mean, Tzuyu?” Sana deeply frowns with the way he addressed her friend. “What does Tzuyu have to do with this?”

Sana can see how he clenches his jaw in frustration, before turning around. “Nevermind.”

Sana was happy Tzuyu is finally back to school, despite the cold treatment she received. She figured the girl is still recovering. She keeps her distance from Tzuyu, not wanting to annoy her too much even though her hand is itching to have any kind of contact with her friend. Just as the bell rings for lunchbreak, Sana hurriedly made her way to Tzuyu’s class, only to find the latter already gone. She asked of Tzuyu’s whereabouts from her classmates, a girl suddenly squealing as she mentions Tzuyu meeting with a boy from higher grade. Remembering the boy who had confessed to her, Sana rushed to find her friend.

She was met with Tzuyu being bounded between the boy and a wall as he yells hurtful things to the poor girl. Feeling angered, Sana shouts at him before giving a strong push, causing the boy to fall on the ground. She pulls Tzuyu closer, wrapping the trembling girl in an embrace. The boy was whimpering in pain but a glare from Sana was enough to silenced him. Sana brought Tzuyu to the infirmary, not once letting go of their hands even when the school nurse is checking her friend for any injury. Thankfully she wasn’t hurt, but she was advised to rest anyway.

“I’m sorry…”  Tzuyu voiced out after a moment of silence between them.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I’m a bother to you, aren’t I?” She tried pulling way, but Sana added another hand to keep the girl closer.

“What? No! Why would you think like that?”  Tzuyu kept mum but Sana recalls the scene earlier. He was shouting things, bad things that must have affected Tzuyu so much. “He said something, didn’t he?”

She slowly nods. 

“What did he said?”

“That… That I’m a bother to you and everyone. That I don’t belong here.”

The crease forming on Tzuyu’s forehead showed how hard she’s trying to keep those thoughts away. Sana quickly engulfs her in a tight hug. “That’s not true, Tzuyu. You were never a bother, not to me, or granny, even Mama and Papa.”

“B-But…” Sana let go, holding Tzuyu’s sad face in her hands. Her chest squeezed in pain seeing Tzuyu trying hard to hold her tears.

“I love having you here, Tzuyu. You are my friend, my bestfriend, and I wouldn’t want you anywhere but here with me. Okay?”

Tears started flowing down her eyes as she buries her face on Sana’s chest. The latter holds her tighter, whispering words of comfort to console her crying friend. It was the first time she sees Tzuyu shed tears and being this devastated. Even when they conversed about Tzuyu’s late parents, the girl was always smiling despite the painful glint in her eyes. Sana had heard granny telling some stories of the mistreatment she received in Taiwan, all alone with no one to lean on. She was glad she was the one who caught Tzuyu in her devastating state this time. 

“Never do that again…" Sana pulled away, a hand prodding Tzuyu's chin to look at her. "Never keep things from me again. Okay, Tzuyu-yah?”

“Okay.”

“Promise?” Sana asked, raising her hand for their secret signature handshake.

“Yeah.” Tzuyu chortles as she responded happily, “Promise.”

*

When her parents were still alive, Tzuyu was never lonely as all the Chou live in a big household consist mostly of her father’s siblings. She was surrounded by people almost every moment, no matter the ages. The place was lively and never quiet. Sometimes, she does miss the chaotic atmosphere of those people she once called family, but living with her grandmother was not so bad after all. Despite living with only one person, she never once felt lonely when a neighbour is always trespassing her home like she owns it.

“I live here longer than you did, Chewy!”

Was her reasoning, but everyone knows she’s just too smitten to part from Tzuyu even for a second. The latter doesn’t mind at all, the Minatozaki are almost like a second family to her and Sana’s presence brings wonder to her, things that Tzuyu never get to do when she was a little kid. Sometimes other people had mistaken them as sisters, the two girls always sticking together wherever they go.

Just like right now, where her grandmother is being bombarded by a few acquainted sellers of the street market with questions whether she’s taking care of another grandchild. Tzuyu glances to her side, the said girl happily skipping while browsing the goods inside a stall, oblivious with the whispers and curious stare. Her grandmother merely laughs, stating she’s just a neighbour’s daughter who likes to follow her around like a parasite. Truth to be told, Sana is indeed a parasite, with the way she’s requesting grandma to buy things for her without any shame. Instead of being bothered by the close relationship that was built before she came, Tzuyu actually enjoys the childish bantering of her friend and grandmother while she giggles on the side as their silent spectator.

Her friend was pouting after getting scolded for being so loud and jumpy, before pulling Tzuyu away from the glaring granny to another stall. They made a stop at a trinket shop; the adorable and shiny little charms and key chains caught their interests. Sana is the only one mostly fascinated, squealing at the sight of cute animal key chains on display. Tzuyu wasn’t much far behind too, except she was a bit more calm; only her eyes are twinkling in admiration of the little animals she adores. 

“Nee, nee, Chewy!”

“Yeah?” She replied without taking her eyes off of the varieties of cow plushies hanging on the rack.

“Let’s buy one.”

She frowns, remembering her empty pocket. “But I don’t have any money with me right now.”

“It’s okay.” Sana waves her off. “I’ll just buy one for you as a gift for your birthday.”

She got surprised at the absurdity of Sana’s reason, her 12th birthday already forgotten. “But that was months ago.”

“Exactly!” She stated nonchalantly, “I didn’t get you a present yet, did I?”

“It’s fine, unnie. It's just a birthday, nothing important.”

“No, it’s not!” She picked one and shows it to the younger girl, “What about this?”

Tzuyu smiles at the black and white cow keychain, “It’s cute.” 

Sana huffed, not satisfied with this kind of reaction. “You know what? I’ll just get one without you knowing so go away, Tzuyu!”

“Did you just chase me away?”

“Yes I did, now go!”

Tzuyu laughed while shaking her head, giving in as she relocates to a nearby stall. She peeks on her friend when an idea flies into her head. She quickly approaches her grandmother and asked for some money, which the latter gladly gives without any question, knowing Tzuyu never ask for something without a reason. The girl waits for Sana to finish her shopping before she shoves her towards her grandmother.

“Grandma asked you to carry her things.”

“Eh, why should I?”

“She’s buying you _hotteok_ later.”

Her eyes widen at the mention of the sweet snack, “Granny, you want me to carry your things? I’ll carry you instead!”

Knowing her plan had worked, she returns to the trinket stall and takes one she was eyeing earlier. Perfect for her Sana-unnie, she thought. She hurriedly pays it before hiding the keychain in her pocket, walking back with a poker face to be met with a huffing Sana with both hands full while whining to her smirking grandmother.

“Yah, granny… are you trying to buy the whole market?”

“Who told you to follow me in the first place?”

“I wanted to follow Tzuyu, not to be your slave!”

Tzuyu snickers at her poor friend as she offers a hand, the girl gladly handing over some. With bags occupying their hands, Sana pouts again. She knows fully what that pout means; Sana is missing her hand to hold. She shrugs with an apologetic smile, before leading them to a stall selling wonderfully smell _hotteok_.

“Grandma, can we have some?”

Her grandma can never say no to those two, lovely pair of puppy eyes as she nods, motioning them to order some. They reached home with tired legs and numb fingers but smiles are still plastered on their faces. Sana’s ears perked up hearing her mother’s loud voice calling her name for dinner. She puts on her shoes but before she bids her friend goodbye, Sana hands out a small paper bag.

“It’s not much but I hope you will like it. Just to remind you of me, in case you miss your Sana-unnie.” Sana tehee’d while scratching her cheek with a finger sheepishly. Without warning, the older girl placed a kiss on Tzuyu’s dimple, leaving the girl frozen while she happily jumps on her feet with a red face.

“Happy belated birthday, Tzuyu-ah!” 

It took a while for Tzuyu to snap out of her dazed state, touching her warm cheek with a dopey grin. She happily accepts the gift, a keychain with a small squirrel plushie attached that exactly resembles Sana munching with her mouth full. She giggles to herself, before patting her pocket for Sana’s gift. After dinner, she holes up in her room, busy writing a letter and wrapping Sana’s gift. She looks at her finished creation in satisfaction, placing it in a safe, hidden place as she waits for Sana’s 14th birthday which is just a few weeks away. 

*

It is one in the morning, and it is Sana’s birthday today. Tzuyu takes out the nicely wrapped present, watching it solemnly before putting the squirrel keychain beside it. She mirrored the plushy’s appearance, puffing her cheeks out just for fun. A frown soon appeared as she pokes the squirrel’s cheek, wishing she’s poking the human version instead.

“Happy birthday, Sana-unnie.” She mumbles sleepily, rubbing her tired eyes as she waits by her bedroom window to see the dark house of her neighbour. She’s been doing the same thing every night, waiting patiently by the window while wishing for the presence of her bestfriend running through their backyard and screaming her name in happy jumps. It has been two weeks, but there was no one rushing to her house and annoys her sleeping grandma while yelling her name excitedly, and the noisy house next door had turned quiet since then. 

“I miss you, Sana…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No more satzu it seems... or is it? Kekeke. Can you guess what happened to Sana? Who do you think will be the characters appearing soon? *dundundunnn*
> 
> I'll try to update weekly if there's more viewers and subscribers. Thank you and take care!


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sana faces the turmoils of emotions alone, until she met new _nakamas_.  
> They had a bad start, though, especially from a certain _peach_.
> 
> **TW:Mention of death (minor character) ******

The past few days went by like a blur for Sana who had just turned 14 last week. She is sitting at the back porch of her grandmother’s house, overlooking a huge pond of koi fishes with neatly trimmed bonsai trees. For the first time after she arrived in Japan, she can finally find peace. She excused herself after breakfast and found herself walking unconsciously to this beautiful place. The girl took a deep breath, trying to calm the currents of emotion playing in her head. There were too much going on in just a matter of days and Sana only wanted to remember the good memories, memories of her father…

Drops of tears fell down her eyes like a broken tap, wetting her cheeks and shirt as the girl silently cried the loss of her father for the first time after the shocking news. Her father, her kind and lovely father, was met with an accident in his hometown during his work here. It was so sudden for everyone, that little Sana didn’t have time to process the news in her blurry head. She blindly followed her mother, who surprisingly, didn’t shed a tear either, as they rushed to the airport. She only remembered her mother’s deep frown and red eyes while holding her hands tightly, never letting go even once.

She was met with her grandmother’s teary face as soon as she reached a big Japanese-styled home, welcoming her in an embrace she always loved, but this time she felt the difference. It was sad, and lonely. The whispered apologies of her grandmother filled her ears as she broke the news that her father was already gone. Sana didn’t let go of her grandmother throughout the mourning and cremation process, clinging to her as if her life was in the old woman’s hand, watching forlornly as her mother handled everything with swollen, wet eyes.

She didn’t understand it then, but now realization finally dawns on her that she had lose a precious person. A hero she once looked up to and depended on, had disappeared and left her. Sana hugs her knees closer to her chest, grieving on her own as tears continue to flow together with an aching heart, her whole body trembling in muffled sobs.

A hand found its way on her quivering back, startling the girl as she whips her head to the person, only to be met with the gentle smile of her grandmother. She pulls the little girl in a hug, humming a tune that was familiar to Sana. The girl followed, mumbling the words she knows by heart.

_I've loved, I've laughed and cried  
I've had my fill, my share of losing  
And now, as tears subside  
I find it all so amusing  
_

_To think I did all that  
And may I say, not in a shy way  
Oh no, oh no not me  
I did it my way_

“I know this song.” She said in between her sniffles, the older woman letting out a soft laugh while patting her one and only granddaughter’s back. It was what her dad always sings to her when she can’t sleep at night.

“It was a song I heard in the past, when I was carrying your father in my tummy.”

Sana smiled as her grandmother rubs her stomach with a lovely grin, “Your father was always a kicker, he never stayed quiet but whenever the radio played this song, he would calm down and stayed silent. I never understand the foreign words, but the tune somehow got stuck in this illiterate brain of mine. I will hum this song as a lullaby for your father, and as he grows up, that smart little young man had found the real song and memorized it himself.”

A sad giggle came from her grandmother, a lone tear dropping from her eye.

“Papa really loves that song. He would sing it in his awful voice whenever he wants to annoy me and mama,” Sana laughs at the memory, “But I love it the most when he sings it during my bad days. He just knows how to cheer me up and makes me happy again.”

Again, tears automatically fell. Her grandmother cooed, wrapping her arms around the fragile body as they cried together. The days went by solemnly for the whole family, her mother finally having the time to rest and give Sana the attention she needed after handling the family’s affair. During dinner however, her mother and grandmother got into a small dispute as the former mentioned about returning back to Korea.

“We’re going back soon, mother.”

“Already?” A frown appeared on the old woman’s face, “We’ve discussed about this, didn’t we? Don’t you think it’s too soon?”

“I know, but… We still have a life over there.”

The ticking of clock filled the room, along with the clinking of their bowls, before Sana’s grandmother sighs deeply.

“Have you considered my offer?”

“I don’t want to impose on you too much, mother.”

“Nonsense!” Her grandmother huffed, “You are a family to me as much as your husband is!”

“But –”

“Have you thought of Sana?”

Her ears perk up at the mention of her name, fully understanding every word exchanged from the other occupants of the table. She doesn’t want to interfere, even if deep inside she wants everyone to have dinner peacefully. She notices her mother’s down casted look as she avoided the old woman’s stare.

“I can take care of her on my own.”

“Are you really able to?”

The conversation stops as they resume dinner, with Sana wondering why her name was being mentioned several times. However, the idea of going back home sends a spark of gleam in her eyes. She misses her house, where things weren’t so foreign for her to do the things she likes. Her thoughts drifted back to her home when a face appeared in her mind.

Tzuyu.

She wondered what her bestfriend is doing right now. Does she miss her? Was she surprised Sana had to go to Japan so suddenly? Did someone tell her about uncle? Tzuyu is close to her family, especially her dad. He would sometimes join them playing or bring them to a nearby park for a small picnic together. Her friend did mention that her father is really nice for treating her like another daughter, even forcing Tzuyu once to call him “Papa” too instead of uncle.

_“Come on, Tzuyu… I want to hear you call me Papa!”_

_“B-But… I can’t.”_

_“Why not?” He whined, it almost resembling her friend. Tzuyu rubbed her nape apologetically. “Because you are Sana’s papa, not mine.”_

_“We can share!” Sana excitedly suggested, gaining an agreeing nod from the handsome man._

_“But I don’t want to.” Tzuyu said with a bit force as she averted her gaze to the ground. “I still love my dad… even if he’s not here anymore.”_

_They were caught startled with her statement. The father-daughter shared looks, before Mr Minatozaki patted Tzuyu’s crown with a smile._

_“Alright, then! I’ve decided to let you call me uncle instead. Is that okay, Tzuyu?”_

_Tzuyu shyly nod as she was met with the grinning face of Sana’s father, the exact copy of her friend which had the same aura that yells “I won’t take no for an answer”._

_“I can’t hear you, Tzuyu.” The way he asked wasn’t that of authority, more of a playful father who wants to mess with his kid. One of the things Tzuyu was fond of._

_“Yes… uncle.”_  
  


As hard as it was for Sana, her friend must have felt worse. At least, Sana still has her mother. Tzuyu must have gone through the same sadness when she had lost both her parents and Sana didn’t feel alone for the first time. She knows Tzuyu will be there for her and they will get through this hard time together. She can’t wait to meet her bestfriend, can’t wait to be home and mess with granny, can’t wait to spend time with Tzuyu.

That is, until another bomb had been dropped. Her mother had decided to live with her grandmother for a few more weeks, until everything is fully resolved. She didn’t get to say, didn’t have a say in it because she wouldn’t understand. She’s still a kid, as her mother stated when she put up a tantrum. She was pacified by her grandmother, saying it is for the best, and for her own sake too.

Sana feels betrayed by her family for the first time. She was ignored by her mother, while her grandmother tried her best to pacify Sana whenever the girl made a strike of her discontentment by giving them silent treatment and refusing to eat for days. But Sana is only a kid at heart. She didn’t have the heart to give her mother the cold shoulder, not when the latter had been trying her hardest to look for a job the whole day and crying to sleep at night. Sana is only a kid, but with a good heart. She made up with her mother after peeking through her room every night, and apologized to her grandmother after finding the old woman hugging her father’s portrait to sleep.

Things didn’t go so well, but Sana tried her best to behave and be the good child she is, as she once promised to her dad when she was seven. She kept that promise to her heart, the one thing that keeps her from lashing out from dissatisfaction. Perhaps, if she’s being a good child, they will go back faster.

A month had past, and Sana was still waiting for nothing while her mother had been too busy searching for jobs. The next week, her mother had decided to put Sana in a school nearby. She protested, her question mainly on when will they be going back to Korea had fell on deaf ears. She reluctantly went to the new school, the unfamiliar faces almost made her run away on her first day. But she remembered Tzuyu, and wished she was there too. This must have been what she felt too when she got to Korea a few years back. The only exception was Tzuyu got Sana back then, but she had no one here.

She found a playground on her way back to school and decided to stay since the sky is pretty that evening. She wondered if the sky is the same in other places, if the view is the same back in her previous house, if Tzuyu is watching as well. She laid on the covered slides with a hand supporting her head, as she let the tears fall along with her loneliness. She misses Tzuyu and granny, the one who’s there when she got no one to play. Her grandmother is kind, but she’s a working woman, and now her mother is doing the same too. There was no point in going back home, there was no one in that house either and she’s not in the mood to be cooped up in her empty room.

Sana sits on the swing, her legs pushing in slow tandem as she remembered a memory with her father, a small smile adorning her gloomy face.

_"Sana, aren't you bored?"_

_"No, papa. I'm playing, see?" Little Sana raised her small fingers with a rubber band tangled, making shapes from her own imagination._

_"But I'm bored." The man juts his lower lip out, Sana mirroring him as she stood from lying on the floor._

_"Papa, you should rest. You just got back from Veronica."_

_He laughed, crouching next to his daughter before pinching her cheek. "It's America, honey." He pulls the reluctant Sana up. "But I want to play with you. Let's go to the park?"_

_"Ehh? But mama said I can't, I have homework to do."_

_"So you want to make papa sad, now?" The man feigned a hurt expression, causing Sana to giggle from his childish act. "Okay... but can Tzuyu come with us?"_

_"Of course! The more, the merrier! I miss our Chewy too."_

_Sana happily jumps on her feet before rushing off to the house next door, yelling for her friend's name. They went to the park, like ninjas of course, hiding from the red monster and old witch for ditching their unfinished homework. They played happily, mostly the girls pushing the man on the swing with no success, since he's too heavy with their strength combined. Nevertheless, they had fun, because her father knows how to make them entertained, even though he's still suffering from jet lag that day._

_"It's good to get some fresh air once in a while. That way, you can do your homework easily." He pats them both on their heads, a gentle grin on his face. "Remember that always, okay kids?"_

_"Yes!" They both said together, laughing together with the man who suddenly start a game of tag, chasing them all over the park._

Sana wipes her eyes, gripping the chains of the swing tightly, as she clings to the vague memories of her childhood. Of her father, who she misses the most.

It was the same routine every day, some sort of a coping method for her to get through her grievances as well as disappointment for having no one to listen to her. However, that day she was met with two unknown faces of her classmates, which she didn’t bother to know because who cares anyway. Well, her classmates did of course, because they seldom had a new transferee coming in the middle of the semester, moreover of a native coming from another country. Much to her chagrin, these two girls decided to pop her bubble of solitude and tried to invade her space.

“Umm, _ano_ …” Sana narrows her eyes at the intruding, gentle voice. “Are you okay?”

She raised her head to be met with a timid girl who got startled and takes a step back from reflex. Another girl with short black hair and bangs covering her eyes is standing closely behind the cowering girl with crossed arms, looking particularly uninterested with a lollipop in her mouth.

“Excuse me –”

Sana quickly cuts the timid girl with a shake of her head, “I’m fine.”

Not in the mood to interact with people, Sana jumps on her feet and slings her bagpack on her shoulder as she walk away, only to be stopped by a shout.

“Oy! Where is your thank you?”

She turns around, the girl with lollipop is approaching her while her other friend is trying to calm her down. She ignores her timid friend as she stops in front of Sana, her angry eyes piercing.

“What?”

“I said,” She takes a step forward, their nose almost touching. “Where is your thank you?”

“For what?”

Both of them are not backing down, until a pull on the lollipop girl’s arm made the latter caved in, not before glaring at the bored-looking Sana.

“Your manner sucks.” She spats before pulling her timid friend to leave. “I told you, Mina... you shouldn’t waste your time on that new girl.”

Sana silently watched as the girls bicker among themselves, not finding their presence interesting as she too headed home. She sees the familiar girls in her class the next day, but paid no heed. Until she was assigned to a group project with them.

An annoyed click of a tongue made her look up, “We’re sitting here so move.”

Sana slowly made some space for the girls to sit around her table. Their eyes meet again in a glaring contest, until the timid girl clears her throat for their attention.

“I’m Myoui Mina.”

Sana gives a slight nod, “Minatozaki Sana.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Minatozaki-san.”

“Sana is fine.”

Mina gives her a shy, gummy grin before turning to her friend frowning at their interaction. Mina nudges with her elbow, prompting her friend to sigh and introduce herself reluctantly.

“Hirai Momo.” She said with a bored expression as she flips through their notes. Feeling brave, Sana decides to return her remarks from yesterday.

“Your manner sucks, too... you know?”

Momo paused her idle flipping of pages, eyes already shooting daggers. “What did you say?”

“Oh, she’s also deaf. How troublesome.”

She abruptly stands up in anger, “Ha?! Why you –”

A fight ensued between them despite Mina yelling for the girls to stop, resulting in a swollen cheek and a bleeding nose with three days detention for both of them. Sana is again reprimanded by her mother once she reached home. It was the first time she had ever caused a problem at school and her mother was perplexed by her unexpected behavior.

“What is going on with you, Sana? Why are you doing this?”

She shrugs, feigning ignorance. “I didn’t do anything. She started it.”

“Well, I don’t care who started it. You’ve never behaved like this, Sana.”

The girl remained quiet, causing her mother to sigh deeply while pinching the bridge of her nose. She already had too much in her hands to even withstand her daughter’s rebellious play, assuming she’s going through her puberty stage at this age.

“Fine. Have it your way.” She waves her hands dismissively, “As a punishment, I want you apologize to the girl and –”

Sana quickly stands on her feet to disagree, “What?! Mama, no!”

“Listen to me young girl, or I’m grounding you!”

Sana is shocked to hear her mother raising her voice for the first time with a finger pointing directly on her face. She quickly turns on her heel and strides to her room, ignoring her mother’s shouting.

“Sana? I’m not done with you yet! Listen to me –”

She stops by the door, twisting her body around in anger. “You never listen to me so why should I?!”

Her mother is stunned from Sana’s outburst, her wide glaring eyes turning soft from her daughter’s quivering lips.

“You know, papa never raised his voice at me but you…”

Her lips turn into a straight line as she clenches her jaw in disappointment before running to her room, unaware of the way her mother is trembling from shock and guilt. The relationship of mother and daughter soon begins to waver as both avoid the other; Sana’s mother too preoccupied with her part-time jobs while the girl refused to face her mother due to her stubbornness. Her grandmother noticed the strain but there was nothing she could do to help as she too was too caught up with her daily job of a shopkeeper.

Sana is approached by Mina during lunch break the next day, the girl takes her own sweet time as she eats her lunch without saying a word. Sana is confused, her eyes frequently glancing at the newcomer who, surprisingly, enjoys her food despite the awkward silence between them.

“Where’s your friend?”

Mina was surprised to hear the question, Sana noticed, but she keeps her composure calm. “Momo?”

“Yeah, that peach.”

“She didn’t come today.” She grins, albeit politely, from the hinted joke. Sana slowly nods, acknowledging the answer as she pokes a piece of carrot. “Why are you here?”

The blunt question startled the newcomer as she whips her head to Sana, before panicking while rushing to pack her stuff.

“Oh! I-I am really sorry… I just –”

Sana puts a hand on her arm, stopping the girl from making a mess and leaving her side.

“Hey, you can sit here.”

“B-But… you were –”

This girl is really quick to jump to conclusion, Sana thought. “Did I ask you to leave?”

Mina takes a few seconds to answer as she slowly shakes her head, “No?”

“Then, sit.”

Sana pulls her gently back to her previous spot as she return Mina’s water bottle and lunchbox back to its respective place. Mina contemplates for a while, but after Sana juts her lips to her lunch, the former resumes eating. It was silent again, but Sana doesn’t mind.

“You’re not eating?”

She turns to Mina, the girl pointing to her untouched food. Sana shakes her head with a small smile, before a thought came.

“You want some?”

Mina watched her with open mouth, probably baffled with the kind gesture, before smiling widely and helping herself with Sana’s lunch. She only takes small pieces but it helps Sana to finish her food at least, that is if her appetite permits.

“I’m not Momo so I don’t think I will be able to finish that.”

Sana raised a brow, “What do you mean?”

Mina laughs in response with a hand covering her full mouth, “If you share your food with Momo, it practically means you’re giving her the entire food instead.”

“Is that so…” Sana slowly nod, a smile unconsciously appeared from hearing Mina’s cute giggle.

“Oh, it’s almost time for class.”

They both clean up without exchanging words, only stealing glances to see where the other is going. As if working telepathically, they walk together side by side to their class. Mina gives her a grateful smile as she saunters to her own seat and leaving Sana to her own.

The latter suddenly feels light, her body isn’t as stiff as it was before and her mind feels free from the cluttered mess of her whirlwind emotions. It might have to do with her interaction with Mina, she thought. She paid no mind to the thought however, reasoning that the girl must have been lonely and alone rather than wanting to befriend her. She’ll definitely stay away from Sana after that rude friend of hers attends school tomorrow.

However, much to Sana’s surprise, Mina appeared again. She is alone again, only this time she takes a seat beside her with a frown. Sana noticed her teary eye along with a red nose.

“What’s wrong?”

The girl only shakes her head with a small smile, a forced one, Sana realized. Wanting to cheer up the girl, Sana offers her lunch again.

“Want to share?”

The girl sniffs before wiping her eyes, giving Sana a nod and a smile. They eat together in silence, Sana wondering what happened for the girl to have that sad expression on her. Just as they were about to return to class, Sana heard a couple of running feet approaching them. Suddenly, Mina slowed her steps and hides behind Sana. She holds Sana’s sleeve tightly, as if scared of the group of boys coming their way. Sensing eyes and whispers directed to them, Sana raised her head with an intimidating stare as she engraves each of their faces in her memory.

Mina is missing during lunch the following day, which was expected since Momo had finally show up that morning, albeit late which resulted in the girl standing outside the class while holding a bucket of water as punishment. Sana doesn’t give a care as she gobbles her meal which was exceptionally delicious that day. However, her alone time is interrupted when a ruckus happened nearby. She thought of ignoring it but a familiar scream caught her attention. She rushes to the site, only to find Momo being surrounded by a group of boys whom she recognized as the ones she saw yesterday; the group that made Mina recoiled and hid behind her back. Speaking of the girl, she can see Mina trembling and cowering behind Momo, tears covering her face.

All of a sudden, Momo was punched by a boy taller than her. The girl seethes as she wipes her bloodied lips, hastily attempting a kick on the boy. He easily dodged with a smirk, before motioning for the other two boys to hold the girl in place. Sana doesn’t know what possessed her, but she sprints as fast as she can before the boy managed to land another hit on Momo, slamming her small body on his tall figure. Sana quickly gets on her feet before the boy could and with a strong swing of her leg, she kicks his balls. The boy screamed in agony, attracting the attention of a teacher on duty.

All of them were called to the office, Sana included. They were given another warning and a letter which was to be given to the parents. Sana sighed as she stared worriedly at the piece of paper, wanting nothing more than to shred it to pieces and throw them into the drain.

She stops by the park, mindlessly sitting on a swing as she contemplates whether to tell the truth or lie. Taking a deep sigh, she decided to face her mother and brace herself for another earful of nagging. Just as she was about to leave, she heard her name being called.

“Sana!”

She turns around, finding Mina and a frowning Momo jogging towards her. She glanced at the short-haired girl, the cut on her lip had been covered with a patch of plaster with cartoon characters.

“Are you going home?”

“Yeah.” She gave a short answer.

“Well,” Mina put both hands on her back as she nervously faced Sana, “I want to say thank you for earlier… and sorry for getting you in trouble.”

Sana waves her hand dismissively, “It’s nothing. I’m glad you’re okay.”

She gives a small smile to the shy girl, the latter mirroring her gesture. Then, Mina turns to Momo who acted like Sana was invisible, motioning the girl to say something too. She hesitantly approaches the waiting girl before reaching out a hand.

Sana raised a brow, confused with the gesture. Sighing loudly while rolling her eyes, Momo grabs the puzzled girl’s hand and hold it in a firm handshake.

“Thanks, you know…” She mumbled while rubbing her nape.

“You really need to work on your manner, _peach_.” Sana replied, but with a teasing smirk. The girl huffs as she released Sana’s hand with a bit of force, albeit the ghost of smile playing on her lips. Seeing their interaction, Mina comes in between and clings to their arms.

“So, that means we’re friends, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes Mina isn't it obvious already? Welcoming MiMo into the story! *standing ovation* The next few chapters will be MiSaMo timeline in Japan. Anyone can guess how SaMo is going to happen? 
> 
> Btw, the song Sana hums is My Way by Frank Sinatra. Give it a listen while reading the beginning scene! (I cried)
> 
> If you're confused with the time skip, please ask and I will try to explain as best as I can. For now, Sana is in middle school (14 y/o) but I don't really follow the real grading system since it's fiction. Let your imagination run wild, people!
> 
> **  
> _Side note: Condolences to the passengers of Indonesian flight SJ182 and their families. My prayers goes to them._  
>  **


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the J-line presence, Sana learned a little about life.  
> But what if one of them yearns for more?

Things were going well for Sana, surprisingly, after almost three years of trying to adapt and growing up. She was really thankful to her two partners in crime, always sticking up to her sides in their troublesome escapades. It was mostly Momo and her who always caused trouble while dragging the unwilling Mina along. Sana was actually surprised she managed to get along well with the inseparable duo, despite their rough introduction. Which also caught her mother bewildered with their mismatch of a coquettish Mina and brash Momo that mixed almost unpredictably well with the addition of her rambunctious daughter. She was initially worried with Sana’s new group of friends; there were several times she was given warning letters and detentions that always involve two of them, but after meeting the timid Mina and listening to her explanations, she had second thoughts of the troublemakers.

_“So?”_

_The woman glared at the guilty faces of her daughter and her friends, mostly at Sana who took frequent glances to the one with bangs. Momo, was it? She waited patiently as they exchanged looks, before the demure Mina (her favourite) raised her head with a quiet voice, she almost missed it if not for the small gesture of raising hand out of politeness._

_“You said something, Mina?”_

_“It... It was me, Miss Minatozaki!”_

_All attention fell on the shy girl holding her hands tightly out of fear; not to herself, but getting her friends in more trouble. The girl took a deep breath as she faces her friend’s mother._

_“T-They were bullying me...”_

_She gasped, “Sana and Momo bullies you?”_

_“No!” The three shouted._

_She narrows her eyes towards her wide-eyed daughter before facing Mina again, waiting for her explanation._

_“Sana and Momo was trying to protect me.”_

After the incident, she admitted that she was at fault and tried to give more attention to Sana, trying to understand her actions more. Thinking back about it, perhaps, she was being too harsh with her daughter, that Sana is indeed having trouble trying to blend in with the sudden changes in their life. However, Miss Minatozaki knew her daughter very well. Sana is always an independent one, already being left on her own at an early age of two due to her parents’ work. It wasn’t until a five years old Sana had shown her a dance step she learnt from the nursery that her mother realized she’s been missing so much of her only daughter’s growing phase. It took a lot of persuasion by her husband and herself; Sana’s mother really loves her dream job as a translator. But her firstborn is her life, her symbol of happiness with her lovely husband.

She observed how Sana is a fast learner, able to converse fluently in between two jumbled up languages, as a result of being a loyal spectator of her parent’s Korean-Japanese conversation whether about work or small talk. Meeting the granny next door adds up her vocabulary of another new language, in addition to her social skills and manner (she’s not talking about Sana’s rowdy behaviour, of course). As Sana grows, she sees how the girl would mould herself with her environment, rather than following orders or doing things by the book.

Her first year in Japan, Sana was already catching up well with her classes and had no problem with the language. In fact, she was showing interest in the literature subject, courtesy of her grandmother who loves poems and calligraphy. She noticed how Sana slowly turns from a wild sea into a calm river in the span of time they lived in Japan. Perhaps, this is what Sana really needs; a change of pace and environment.

She remembered that one fateful day when just got back from work late in the evening and met with the girls on the playground. She was about to call for Sana to go home together but stopped as she eavesdrop on their life-changing discussion.

_“Did you know that ants are one of the strongest creatures in the world?”_

_“Eh, really?”_

_Without thinking, the 15 years old Sana dropped a small pebble on the line of ants marching innocently on the ground. She gasped when Mina shrieked for her to stop._

_“Sana! What did you do?”_

_“I thought you said ants are strong!”_

_Mina gave her a pouty glare before lifting the stone. They watched carefully for any victim of Sana’s accidental experiments before sighing in relief when there was none._

_“That scared me.”_

_Sana scratched her head sheepishly, “Sorry for doing that.”_

_“Momo got it worse so you’re safe.”_

_“What did she do?”_

_“She dropped herself on the ants, only to get bitten all over as a result.”_

_Sana toppled over while laughing loudly, already imagining how the girl would frown deeply from her own misfortune. Mina merely gave her a gummy grin as she remembered the red spots covering Momo’s body while the girl whines endlessly on the way to the infirmary._

_“I want to be an ant.”_

_“Why?” Sana gave her friend a curious look, seeing the frown on her face._

_“If I’m strong, I won’t get bullied all the time... right?”_

_“Ehhh?! But I don’t want to see an ant-Mina... You’ll look scary!”_

_The girls shared another laugh before Sana stood up, rolling the sleeve of her shirt up and flexing her arm, showing her non-existent bicep._

_“I may not be as strong as Momo,” She poked her lean arm, “But you can count on me to protect you, Mi-chan.”_

_The cheeky grin was soon replaced with a worried gaze after seeing Mina’s eyes getting teary. She panicked, trying to stop the girl from crying before a giggle erupts from the latter. She watched in concern when Mina shook her head motioning she’s fine, the girl taking a deep breath._

_“We’ll protect each other.” She held out a hand with a tearful smile. “Mi-chan, Sa-tan and Momo-rin. Together, okay?”_

_Sana nodded, about to grab Mina’s hand to pull her into a hug, only to have a certain raccoon jumping on her back._

_“Ow- hey!”_

_“I heard my name! What is it, what is it?” The girl excitedly asked while still hanging on Sana’s back, before receiving a slap on her bum. “You’re heavy, get off!”_

_Momo laughed annoyingly while handing out the ice creams she bought after losing in a game of jankenpon. Well, it was actually Mina who loses, but Momo would even cross fire with her bare feet for the girl, let alone made her do errands from Sana’s selfish request._

_“As an apology for breaking your back.” Momo stuck out her tongue as she throws Sana her ice cream._

_“That is not an apology! You even used my money to buy these.” Sana grumbled, only to get ignored as Momo had already switched into her shikshin mode._

_Sana offered Mina her ice cream, the girl happily took a bite. Momo smiles, expecting the same, only for the ice cream to pass by her face and back to the owner’s mouth. She pouted from the unfair treatment she received._

_“What?”_

_“I want a bite, too.”_

_“We have the same flavour, Momo.” Sana deadpanned._

_“You want a strawberry flavour!”_

_“Why did you get the same as mine, then?!”_

_Mina softly giggled watching her friends’ childish bantering. She presents the blue-coloured popsicle towards Momo’s face, offering the sulking girl a bite to appease her. However, before the excited girl could savour the icy confection, Sana had already beaten her to it._

_“Hey, that was for me!”_

_Sana made a silly face to celebrate her triumph on the frowning girl. Wanting to get revenge, Momo hurriedly snatched Mina’s hand and chomps the already melting ice cream, leaving only the stick behind._

_Her eyes turned wide to find the stick was the only thing remained; the last bite already disappeared down her throat. She got reprimanded by Sana for her impulsive behaviour, while profusely apologizing to the unconcerned girl._

_“It’s fine, Momorin... I’m already full.”_

_Knowing Mina’s just being considerate on her dumb friend, she quickly offered her ice cream. Momo saw this and copied the same gesture. Mina was taken aback as two ice creams were shoved to her face. The girls started quarrelling again, while Mina began doing wonders as the mediator of the group, accepting both of their offers with a small bite of the strawberry flavoured ice cream._

Miss Minatozaki reached home with a contented grin that evening, catching her mother-in-law in shock from the usual frown that was missing. She can’t say she is proud of Sana in words, but she is. It’s lovely to see her being good friends with the girls.

*

Sana is already 16 years old, about to turn 17 by the end of the year. Miss Minatozaki had been quietly observing her daughter while heaving a silent sigh as the thought once again popped in her head. It can wait, but somehow she wants to hear Sana’s opinion about this lifetime decision she’s going to make.

“Sana?”

“Hm?”

They were quietly folding clothes in the living room with the television playing in the background, her grandmother was watching the news earlier but had now dozed off for her scheduled afternoon nap.

“How’s school?”

Sana gives her mother a smile, “Momo didn’t cause any trouble this week, so it’s pretty much the same. Nothing much.”

Her mother slowly nods, returning the smile. It is the weekend, the only moment she’s able to slip some time to spend with her daughter. She managed to get a proper job after a year of moving there, courtesy of an old friend she met who knows a publishing company in need of an experienced translator. It was a godsend, but the demand for her skill was overwhelming. She’s been working for 12 hours a day, it was almost impossible to see Sana on week days alone. It’s either the girl had just woken up, or about to go to sleep when she’s at home.

“What about you, mama?” 

“Hmm, me? Other than a lot of writing and editing?” She made a pondering face, before grinning with a peace sign. “Nothing much.”

They laugh at the response, the mother mimicking her daughter’s way of replying. She suddenly remembered the important question she’s been meaning to ask.

“Sana, do you like living here?”

She sees the surprise shown on Sana’s face, which the latter quickly covered with her squirrel-like smile.

“Of course! I mean, it was a bit hard for me in the beginning. But I’m slowly getting used with everything, thanks to Momo and Mina.”

Yes, the two girls; her daughter’s precious people. She doesn’t have the heart to break them apart. She contemplates with her intention earlier of asking Sana the question that might either elate the girl, or break her heart. She already knows the answer, and she doesn’t want to bear the guilt again.

“Mama?”

“Yes?” She quickly forced a smile at the sight of Sana’s curious face.

“Why did you ask that?”

She still has a lot time. She just needs to find the right timing to ask her daughter. Yeah, things will be fine.

She gives Sana a shrug, trying her best to look normal. “Just wondering.”

*

Sana rushes to the open field after her literature club finished its meeting, her eyes scanning the bleachers for a familiar face. Early in the semester, the girls were saddened to know Sana’s class is not the same as the other two. However, they promised to make time for meet-ups whenever possible, just like right now where one of them is watching Momo’s volleyball practice. Sana grins as she caught her friend watching intently on the open field, probably only having eyes on one of the star players. Silently plopping on the empty seat beside her gaping friend, Sana follows the direction of her eyes and hums loudly.

“You’re gonna burn a hole on her if you keep looking like that.”

“Eh?”

Mina snaps her head to the side, before turning away to hide her flustered face.

“W-What are you saying?”

Sana giggles teasingly before the sudden cheering from the small crowd caught her attention when the practicing volleyball team scored a point against the other. It’s a friendly match between the male and female team of the school, which is a bit unfair from Sana’s point of view but after seeing the scoreboard, there is nothing to fret about.

“Your meeting finished quite early.” Mina said while clapping her hands, a subtle smile adorning her face.

“Yeah, we were just discussing about the competition next month which, I am not related at all, mind you.”

Mina laughs from her friend’s groan, patting her shoulder in pity. “Must be hard to be the president’s favourite.”

“I hate that guy! He really enjoys picking a fight with me and see me suffer.”

Another cheer erupts, this time Sana whoops along seeing as it was Momo who scored it. The latter obviously caught the loud yell as she turns her head to the crowd, catching Sana and Mina waving to her. She waves back with a wide grin before making a winning pose, which gains a lot of reaction from the crowd. Sana made a gagging gesture while Mina giggles on their playful interaction.

“Momo’s game is next week right? You’re going, Mi-tan?”

“I’m not sure yet...“ She replied with a tight smile.

“Oh? This is unusual.” Sana cocks an eyebrow. “You never missed Momo’s game.”

Mina bit her lower lip, hesitating to reveal what’s on her mind. But she can never hide anything for Sana who always has a way to make Mina disclose what’s bothering her.

“I got ballet tryout in the morning.”

“Ehh? What tryout? Hold on.” Sana turns her body fully facing her guilty friend. “I didn’t get any memo of this...?”

The guilty girl shrugs with an appeasing smile, “It’s just a small play. I don’t want to make a big deal about it.”

“Mina! It’s not just a small play… It’s a play!”

“But Momo’s game is more important.”

Sana let out a frustrated sigh, seeing how nonchalant her friend is with her future dream-like passion. “So is yours!”

Mina keeps mum as she played with her fingers while Sana takes a deep breath to calm down. “Does Momo know about this?”

The girl shakes her head no. By now, Sana is directing her a glare as she crossed her arms. “Why is that?”

“What is what?”

They both whip their heads to the voice, a sweating Momo is standing in front of them with a towel on her neck and a bag slung on her left shoulder. They exchange silent looks, Mina giving a small shake of her head to Sana, which the latter understood fairly well. Mina quickly hands the confused Momo a bottle of cold water, hoping it will distract her friend.

“Ah! Thank you, Mitang… always the life saver.” Momo gives her a grateful smile while opening the lid, “Unlike the stingy Sana here.”

“Hey, I cheered for you!”

“That was a desperate attempt.” She shrugs, “And a bit late too, don’t you think?”

Momo was about to take another swig but Sana deliberately push the bottle up, causing the water to enter another hole. The poor girl chokes, coughing as water went into her nostrils.

“H-Hey!”

Sana cackles as she makes a run from her fuming friend to save herself, while Mina claps like an amused penguin by the side. Momo loudly whines as she curse her fleeing friend, prompting Mina to wipe her face clean with a tissue before letting Momo to run after the jumping Sana provoking her from afar with funny faces.

They walk back home together, a normal every day routine since they live around the same neighbourhood. Sana is talking animatedly with Momo when she noticed from the corner of her eyes of the silent girl following them closely from the back. She directs Mina a questioning look when she raised her head, asking if she’s okay. Mina responds with a smile, a strained one, Sana noticed. She was about to reach for Mina’s arm when she suddenly feels herself being pulled into another body.

“Oy, be careful! You almost step into the drain hole!”

“Oh.” Sana was stunned from the close proximity, quickly pulling away while muttering a thank you.

“Seriously, where are your eyes?”

“On my face, obviously.” Sana rolled her eyes, “What are you, blind?”

“What did you say?”

Their face are close with electricity sparking in their eyes, their fists already rising when Mina clears her throat to interrupt their childish feud. Receiving a disapprove look from the frowning penguin, they slowly back away from each other in silent truce. They wait for Mina’s sermon like a sad, guilty puppy, but Mina keeps on walking without a word, leaving the girls confused.

Not knowing what to do, they wordlessly follow the silent girl. They drop off Momo on her uncle’s restaurant since she has an errand with him, bidding short farewells to each other before the remaining girls continue their journey. They were about to reach Sana’s house but the latter quickly grab Mina’s arm and makes a detour to the playground they always frequent. Sana drags them to the swing, forcing the confused Mina to take a seat while she slowly pushes her.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

Sana almost groans from Mina’s nonchalant reply. “You’re so quiet when we walk.”

“Aren’t I always?”

If it was someone else, they would have bought the lie and let it slide. But this is Sana, her bestfriend who knows her inside out. Mina, the kind and gentle girl who values courtesy, wouldn’t reply like that.

“Is it about earlier?”

It seems to had struck a chord as Mina ducks her head low, Sana receiving another silent reply. She stops the swing and crouches in front of Mina, gently grabbing her hands to gain her attention.

“I’m sorry, Mi-tan...”

“It’s not your fault.” Mina shakes her head, “I really want to tell both of you about the tryout but when I found out that Momo’s game is the same day, I just –”

Sana almost cooed from Mina’s trembling lips, the girl trying her best to suppress whatever emotion she’s feeling at the moment.

“Momo would understand, you know?”

She squeezes Mina’s fists to encourage her that it’s fine, Momo wouldn’t get mad or upset at her. The stupid girl loves Mina so much, she would even beat herself if she ever hurt her penguin.

“You think she would be fine if I’m not there?”

“Well...” Sana tilts her head with a pondering face, “She might get a bit sad, but that’s it. She’s too dumb to even be upset at you, Mi-tan.”

Mina chortles, slapping the giggling Sana on her arm.

“Can you do me a favour?”

“Anything for you, my dear princess.” Sana bowed like a prince, earning another gummy laughter from the girl.

“Go to Momo-rin’s game.” Sana was about to open her mouth to protest, but Mina stops her with a small tug of their connected hands. “For me.”

Sana frowns, but nodded anyway. “What about you?”

A gummy smile appears on her face, “I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“So it’s fine to worry about Momo?”

Mina laughs from Sana’s deliberate pout. “It will mean a lot to Momo-rin if you’re there.”

Sana narrows her eyes with a snort, “I don’t believe it. That girl only knows how to pick a fight with me.”

“Trust me.” Mina averts her eyes downward, squeezing Sana’s hand with a smile. “She’ll be elated.”

*

Despite being in Japan for almost 3 years, Sana is surprised to know Momo’s vocabulary is equivalent to her level when she first arrived to Japan. Here she is in the library with the sleepy peach, desperately trying to tutor her friend Japanese literature, which is her favourite and also best subject so far.

“Momo-rin.”

“Hmm…”

Sana sighs tiredly from the response. Glancing at the wall clock, her forehead scrunches in annoyance as she’s already late for her prior appointment. Sana slams the table, startling the snoozing girl from her short nap.

“I’m awake, I’m awake!” Momo squeezed her eyes tightly to rid off the drowsiness before letting out a wide yawn, “What did I miss?”

“Your tutoring time, you idiot.” Sana grumbles while tidying her belongings into her bag. “We should skip today’s session since you’re dead tired.”

“I agree with that.” She stretched her arms upward, before following Sana’s action. “Sorry, I didn’t sleep a wink last night.”

Sana paused and gives her friend a confused stare, “Again?”

She received a nonchalant shrug, “Got some things to do.”

“What things?”

“Just, _things_.” Momo quickly changed the subject as she follows Sana already striding out of the library door. “You seem like in a rush.”

“I’m meeting someone.”

“Ooohh… your secret admirer?”

“Yeah, right. I don’t have one.”

“You don’t know about that.”

Sana raised a brow at her friend who only smirks with her droopy eyes. She decided to ignore Momo with her dumb look, probably still hasn’t wake up from her nap. Sana takes some time trying to convince Momo to go home first and catch up on her skipped sleeping time. After making sure Momo had left the school ground, Sana quickly dashes to the dance room. She was met with a closed eye Mina leaning on the mirror wall with earphones plugged in.

The sight is serene and calm, attracting Sana to her friend with a warm smile. She slowly makes her way to Mina’s side with silent and gentle steps, sliding down on the cold floor and landing her head on Mina’s shoulder. Her smile turns into a delighted grin as she feels warmth falling on top of her head. They stay like that for a while, basking in each other’s comforting presence when suddenly the evening bell chimes.

“This is nice,” Mina pulls her head away, “But we should get going.”

Sana pouts as she clings to Mina’s arm tightly, whining at the loss of warmth from her friend.

“Just a few more minutes!”

Mina lets out a small giggle, “It’s getting late, Sa-tan. We really need to go now.”

“Do we have to?” She deepens her pout, only to receive another hearty laugh.

“Stop that, I’m not Momo-rin.”

“That’s why I’m doing it to you! Momo would either ignore me, or make disgusted face. While you–”

“W-What?” Mina gives Sana a suspicious look from her teasing smirk. Without warning, Sana pulls her into a tight hug, nuzzling her nose on Mina’s neck causing the latter to squirm from the ticklish sensation.

“Sana! Stop that!”

Both of them turn into giggling mess, Sana only stopping when she realized they were out of breath. Mina glares at her, a failed one of course since it was too cute for Sana to regard it as an angry face.

“Come on! Let’s go get your precious Momo-rin her present.”

Sana drags her friend out of the room before intertwining their hands together, barely missing the shade of red on Mina’s cheeks. They walk side by side, their hands still attached as they visit one shop after another, looking for the perfect gift for Momo’s birthday.

“I’m getting avocados for her. That idiot would be ecstatic, for sure.” Sana lamely comments as she saw a poster of items on sale on a grocery shop.

“For real, Sa-tan?” Mina snorts while shaking her head.

Sana shrugs with a face like she doesn’t care. She was suddenly being pulled to a sports store by the enthusiastic Mina as she waddles through the isle of equipments on showcase. Mina carefully browses through the selection of items on sale, sometimes asking Sana of her opinion, which the latter answered with her bored expression. She received a pout at some point, which prompts Sana to apologize profusely and deciding to at least make an effort to help Mina.

“How about this?”

Mina showed Sana a pink-coloured sweat-absorbing headband.

“Well, it can help with holding Momo’s annoying bangs when she play.”

A voice suddenly interrupts them, “We have a special offer for that item.”

They turn to the person sitting on the ground with boxes around him as he rearranges some items on the shelf, probably the store staff.

“You can customize it with names or initials. If you want, I can help you with the order.”

Sana and Mina exchanged looks, earning a firm nod from the determined penguin.

“I’ll take this, please!”

The order took almost two weeks to finish, which was almost a day before Momo’s birthday. Mina was really anxious when she picks up the present from the store with Sana, but the expression on Momo’s face when she received it was worth the hassle and trouble. She actually squealed when Mina showed her the letters of her name woven on the pink headband. To Mina’s embarrassment, Momo had decided to wear the headband for the whole day at school, wanting to parade her birthday gift to everyone so that no one can steal it and knows this headband is hers, and hers only. 

What’s funny was Sana did give Momo the avocados on sale. She wrapped them nicely in small boxes and presents them one by one in various places for Momo to find. The star player was annoyed, to say the least, but they are still her favourite thing. Momo promised a full meal lunchbox for Sana as thanks for being so considerate to even prepare a treasure hunt gift for her. The next day, Sana was forced to drink the avocado shake Momo brought for breakfast and a bento box filled with all sorts of avocados menu on it. They were getting rotten, Momo reasoned. Sana had promised herself to never get on Momo’s wrath or she will suffer another stomach ache like that day.

*

Sana is surprised to see her friends giving cold shoulder to one another during lunch break. She had never once seen them fighting during the three years they’re together so this is a first for Sana and she is dumbfounded.

“What’s... going on?”

“Nothing.”

Both of them responded as they take a spoonful of their meal, with Sana sitting awkwardly in the middle.

“Okay...”

She decided to let them be and enjoy her meal instead, her mom really made an effort for her lunchbox today. It’s Korean food and Sana’s mouth had been salivating since morning at the thought of having the comfort food she grew up with. Just as she was about to have the first bite, Mina abruptly stood up, making her heart almost jumped out from the sudden action.

“Whoa! M-Mina?”

“I’m already full.”

Sana eyed Mina’s untouched bento box. “But you haven’t –”

“I have an errand to do.”

Sana watched with mouth wide agape as Mina left without even sparing them a glance or a wave. She puffs out her cheeks, before turning to the perpetrator with a glare.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing.” The girl grumbles while stuffing her already full mouth with more rice.

“I know it’s your fault.”

“It’s not.”

“It is.”

Momo suddenly slams her lunchbox on the ground. “I don’t know, okay?!”

Sana got shock again from Momo’s outburst, her hand already rubbing her chest to calm her fragile heart.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Eh? Wait, what?! Hold on, I’ll come with–”

“I said I’m not hungry so leave me alone!”

Sana was so taken aback, she could only watch in confusion as Momo walked away in small jogs. She turns to her lunch, the food doesn’t seem that appetizing anymore. After a few moments of contemplating whether to shove the food down her throat or let it turn stale for her after-school snack, she heard loud sniffles in the corner.

Sana takes a peek, finding her friend crouching behind the wall while hiding her face in her hands.

“Mina?”

She quickly rushes to her side after seeing her crying state. She pulls her in an embrace, patting her back gently as the girl starts sobbing.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Mina responded with a shake of her head, “It’s my fault.”

Sana nodded, “Want to tell me?”

It’s the first time Sana had seen her crying so hard for something that wasn’t caused by bullying. Her heart churns seeing how fragile Mina is right now, all because of a certain stupid girl named Hirai Momo. After a while, Mina pulls away while wiping her eyes, trying to calm herself before she starts explaining what happened between them.

_The first class of the day had already started but Mina couldn’t properly focus on the lecture, not when her seatmate is missing. She had been continuously glancing on the classroom door, hoping the person will show up. As if her prayer was answered, she heard running steps filled the hallway, before a girl emerged with a screech of her shoes. She was panting; her hair dishevelled, but still managed to put on the sweetest smile to the teacher._

_“Hirai.” The male teacher said in his deep gruff voice, only giving her a glare for interrupting his class._

_Momo sheepishly scratched her hair before giving a deep bow. “I’m really sorry for being late, sensei!”_

_The teacher only sighed, ordering the girl to quickly and quietly get to her seat. Momo happily hops to her seat, only to be met with the curious stare of her bestfriend._

_“What?”_

_Mina raised a brow, “Again?”_

_“I missed the alarm.”_

_The girl in question shrugged nonchalantly, motioning for Mina to face the blackboard before she would get into trouble too. It wasn’t even half an hour since she arrived, but Momo was already dozing off. It was probably because of the subject, but Momo was never one to miss a lecture since her motto was ‘to focus only on what the teacher taught in class, and nothing else’, hence why she never study in her free time, only filling them with volleyball practice instead. Mina shook her head disapprovingly when Momo laid her head on the table, squirming around to find a comfortable spot. A few seconds later, she was out like a light._

_Mina sighed, already expecting this after several days of witnessing the same activity unfold before her. She had chided the girl a few days back, albeit gently since Momo was really tired and had been yawning throughout her nagging. She can even see eye bags forming due to lack of sleep and her skin loosing fat. It got her mad that Momo is neglecting her self-care, all because of that one thing she’s doing. But knowing how stubborn her bestfriend is, everything she said turned to deaf ears._

_It wasn’t until the bell for lunch rang that Momo woke up from her deep slumber. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her stiff limbs, feeling satisfied with the long nap. With her dopey, dazed look, she turns to Mina with a smile._

_“What did I miss?”_

_Mina was literally shoving her things inside her bag, just because she needed to vent out her frustration somewhere. “We have a quiz tomorrow.”_

_“Eh?!“ Momo jumped on her seat, clearly surprised with the news. “But I didn’t take down any notes.”_

_Knowing well it was just an act of mercy, Mina paid no heed as she busied herself with tidying her things. She sensed puppy eyes directed to her; Mina can never say no to the adorable gesture of her bestfriend. But today, she didn’t find it amusing in the slightest bit. It annoyed her, a deep kind of annoyed that makes her want to whack the girl in the head with that dusty, thick encyclopedia abandoned in the library. Instead of responding with the norm of passing her note to the poor girl, she blatantly replied with a low grumble of “Serves you right.”_

_Momo gave he a surprised look, not expecting the gentle Mina to give her that kind of reply. The latter was about to leave with her lunchbox when Momo grabbed her arm to stop her._

_“What’s wrong with you?”_

_“Ask that yourself.”_

_“What?” Mina turned on her heel to leave but was stopped again when Momo block her way. “Hey! Don’t ignore me –”_

_“You were the one who’s been ignoring me!”_

_Momo was startled with Mina’s outburst; she had never heard the timid girl raised her voice like this, especially to her._

_“What are you saying, Mina?”_

_“I’ve told you many times to take care of yourself, but what just happened?” Mina’s stare harden at the sight of Momo rolling her eyes. “You’ve been losing sleep and skipping meals these two weeks and it’s clearly affecting your attention in class, Momo.”_

_Momo’s eyes soften, “But you know the reason behind it...”_

_“Yeah, I know and that’s why I’m angry because you didn’t listen! You never listen, Momo-rin!”_

_She was already feeling groggy from the lack of sleep and hearing Mina’s loud voice just added fuel to her ignited fire. A nerve snapped, and Momo didn’t stop herself from letting out her annoyance._

_“Could you please stop worrying and treating me like a kid?” Momo scoffed, “You always do this and I hate it, Mina! You should just mind your own business.”_

_Mina was stunned by the words, her blood boils again from the truth. It was as if the devil was whispering to her ears; that Momo was just being a good friend. A friend who only pities her while trying her best to endure Mina’s wearisome attitude. Momo never appreciate those caring gestures so why would she?_

_“Fine.” Mina pushed through Momo’s physique, wanting nothing more than to disappear from being in the same place with the latter._

_“W-What? What do you mean- Hey, Mina! Where are you going?”_

_“Minding my own business.” She said with spite, not even sparing Momo a glance._

_“Eh? But what about the notes?”_

_Mina scoffed to herself. “Good luck with that.”_

“Oh.”

Sana doesn’t know what to say, only giving nods in between while processing everything in her head. She can’t blame Mina for being worried and Momo was certainly being overboard. She cursed the girl mentally for her selfish attitude.

“It’s my fault, Sana. Don’t blame her, she has her reasons.”

Sana deeply sighed, she can’t let this happen between the two bestfriends. Momo need some sense knocked in her head and Sana would gladly do it for her.

“I’ll talk to her.”

“Don’t be mad at her.”

“I won’t, Mi-tan. Don’t worry.” She pats Mina softly on her head; even if she’s mad, Mina still cares for the dumb start player. Sana just hopes she will stay true to her words because she’s really disappointed to see Mina in that state just now because of a certain Hirai.

After school, Sana made a dash to catch up with Momo who had already disappeared down the hallway to her volleyball practice.

“Momo!”

The said girl ignores her, prompting Sana put more speed in her steps.

“Hey, stop and listen to me!”

“I’m late for my practice.”

She was pulling the girl’s arm, perhaps with too much force, because Momo had stumbled on the floor because of the pull. Sana is shocked with her fragile state, only to feel her heart wrenched once she sees the haggard look of her friend. There are traces of dried tears with puffy eyes, prompting Sana to pull her in an embrace. Her body trembles, followed by muffled sobs as she clutches Sana’s shirt tightly.

“I’m s-sorry.”

Sana hushed the girl who’s mumbling all sorts of apologies in between small hiccups. Unknown to the two, Mina had followed them closely hoping she can apologize, only to stop when she saw the scene. She watches them silently, her eyebrows furrowing as a hand perched atop her chest to stop the twisting sensation _. Yeah, Sana is enough,_ she thought. Momo needs Sana, not her. She was about to leave when Sana caught her shadow in her peripheral view.

Their eyes met, and Sana motions for the girl to come closer. Mina was reluctant, but she can’t ignore the encouraging smile directed to her. Momo raises her head at the sound of rustling plastic, a small packet of peach-flavoured gummies appeared before her. She looks up to see Mina holding the snack with her gaze directed on the empty hallway, refusing to meet eyes.

“I’ll give you all the notes for the quiz tomorrow.”

Mina yelps when she feels her body being pummelled by a weight. She quickly raised her arms to catch the girl who had pushed her to the wall, hands wrap tightly around her waist. Mina blinks a few times, before responding back with a squeeze of her arms around the frail body.

“I miss you already.” Momo confessed. A lone tear falls down Mina’s cheek along the lifted corner of her lips, “It wasn’t even a day yet.”

“No! It’s hard enough even for a few hours!”

Mina chuckles lightly, rubbing the girl’s head in an affectionate manner. Sana makes cooing sound at the sight before inviting herself in another bear hug, crushing them both in her arms.

“Don’t ever fight again, please! I don’t want to eat lunch alone...”

They laugh, agreeing without a word as they bask in the warmth of their bodies crushed together in a big hug.

*

Sana’s mother had planned a small birthday dinner for her daughter, inviting mostly Sana’s two friends who had worked together for the surprise. Sana, fortunately, was too dense to even remember her own birthday so the surprise was a success. They are having fun talking and sharing stories of how little Sana was when she was a mischievous girl. It wasn’t until they finished cutting the cake that Momo asked Sana to meet her outside by the pond in the backyard.

“Here.”

Sana gives her a curious stare; Momo was rubbing her nape shyly as she handed a nicely wrapped box to her.

“What’s this?”

“Your present. Open it.”

“Really? It’s not some prank or anything like that?”

“Geez, just open it!”

Sana carefully tears the wrapper, exposing a box with a brand she loves. She gasps in surprise at the content, a necklace with a small pendant of pink stone in the shape of a heart.

“Momo, this is…”

It was before Mina’s birthday, the day they went out together to search for the girl’s present when Sana’s eyes caught the necklace on display. She gushed over it the whole time but knowing Momo, the latter ignored her, even making fun of her choice of poor taste. She didn’t expect for Momo to actually pay it any attention and surprised her like this.

“I didn’t steal it, I swear!” Momo exclaimed after receiving a suspicious look.

“I never said you did! But, how?”

“I was working on my uncle’s restaurant every night for the past 2 months.”

That explains the sleeps she’s been losing and her groggy state every morning, Sana thought. 

“You like it?”

“Are you crazy? Of course, I love it!”

Momo wears a smug grin before pointing to the small box, “There’s something else inside, but you can read it later when I leave.”

“Oh, a letter? The ‘bad-at-Japanese’ Momo-rin really wrote me a letter?” Sana teased.

“S-Shut up! Just read it!”

“But your Japanese is worse than mine, it must be hard to read.”

She received an annoyed glare from the latter as she grins teasingly.

“Fine, fine. I’ll make sure to read it later.”

Sana feels like her whole body had been drained off of its strength as she read the scribbled words. The letter was readable, only the content was too shocking for her to comprehend fully; it was a poem of sorts, a flattering one filled with praises of herself and the resemblances with nature. The writer is comparing Sana with all beautiful things; it makes her head aches from the content as she tries to correlate the deep meaning behind it. It was after the 6th reading that it finally dawns on Sana.

Momo likes her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> godammit Momo you're not the only one who likes Sana, we do as well!!!  
> The interactions in this chapter makes me want to change the SaMo tag into a love triangle... should I, should I? *plays with fingers with anticipating look* Ok, maybe no. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and do write out your feelings on the comments below. I'd love to read them and interact with my readers! Thank you again and I hope you have a great week, okay??? Take care! ^^


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is this what love is, or just a fond affection?  
> Sana is having mixed feeling,  
> because someone else is hurting.

“So...”

Sana is minding her own business, playing around with her food while trying to avoid the stare of the person sitting opposite of her on the table. Mina closely observes the interaction between her friends with curious eyes; Sana is obviously trying to ignore the star player for the past half an hour since the lunch break started. It has been like this for almost a week now but none of them had actually made effort to come front with each other for their problems, or perhaps one of them is being too oblivious with her surrounding to catch what’s actually going on. Seeing the expectant look of Momo, Mina decided to be the good friend and nudges the aloof Sana for her attention.

“Huh?” Sana turns to the person sitting on her side, receiving a pointed glare from the penguin look-alike with a motion to look to her front.

“What is it?” She idly asked the pouting Momo, “You’re still hungry?”

With food being offered had the dejected puppy wagging her tail happily as she gladly took the Korean food made by Sana’s mother. At first, Momo had disliked the foreign taste but after a few times of stealing bits of the food, she comes to enjoy it a lot. Mina watched her friend wolfing down the meal with a fond smile before turning her attention to Sana. She gives her another gentle nudge, her soft eyes meeting tired ones.

_Let’s meet later._

After sending Momo to her volleyball practice that afternoon, Mina pulls the reluctant Sana to an empty bench on the school courtyard. She chose a rather secluded area away from the commonly used pathway for students, perfect for the interrogation about to take place. She gestured for the confused-looking girl to take a seat beside her, the girl obeying without a word.

“What’s up with you?” She asked after a moment of silence between them. Sana gives her a puzzled look, “What?”

Mina sighs. This is going to be harder than cracking Momo’s thick skull, it seems. She kind of already guessed what’s going on between the two, but she wants Sana to be the one to break the news to her because believe it or not, Mina had not expected this kind of reaction from the rather bright girl.

“You don’t look so good.”

Sana lifts her shoulders with a weary smile, “I guess I’m just tired.”

“I didn’t know getting confessed to would make you this tired.” She whips her head to Mina, the latter wearing a nonchalant look despite the knowing glint in her eyes.

Sana gasps, “Momo told you?”

“She did tell me about the birthday confession plan. But honestly, I didn’t think it would work out, knowing how Momo-rin is.” Mina smiled at the shocking face of utter betrayal she received from Sana, “I kind of put two and two together after seeing your poor excuse of trying to avoid Momo-rin who is overly eager to talk to you since your birthday.”

Sana frowns as her shoulders sag in defeat. “Was it too obvious?”

“Not to Momo-rin, for sure.” Mina shrugs teasingly, trying to lighten the mood of the sulking girl. “Want to tell me what’s bothering you?”

She sighs deeply, not really sure how to express her jumbled thoughts into words. Mina patiently waits for her, an encouraging smile etched on her face. She lets out another breath before voicing out her concern.

“I’m really flattered, I do... But, I don’t know! It’s just too sudden! I’m not sure how I really feel about Momo, about all these things. I don’t want to hurt her by leading her on or something...”

The conversation paused for a minute, Mina thinking deeply of what to say with this complicated situation while Sana feels tired just by brooding about it.

“What do you feel about Momo-rin?”

“She’s our friend, Mi-tan. Of course I love her!”

Mina tilts her head with a pondering face. “What about when you’re together?”

“Well, we do argue a lot but it’s all just for fun, we’re comfortable like that. She’s cool to be with, sometimes annoying, sometimes adorable when she goes pouting for food, and makes me safe I guess.” Sana smiled at the thought before shrugging, “She is the protector of the group, anyway.” 

“Why don’t you give it a try?” Sana wears an incredulous look at Mina’s suggestion. “I mean, she’s Momo-rin. She’s lovable enough for a small kid to fall for her charms.”

“But I don’t even know what love is!”

Mina shakes her head with an amused laugh, “You won’t know if you don’t try, Sa-tan.”

Sana groans loudly, unsatisfied with Mina’s answer.

“Look, Momo-rin really put a lot of effort for your birthday present. The least you can do is to go along with her confession. If you think it’s not working, you can tell her about it.”

“Do I have to?” Sana pouts, only to receive a flick on her forehead. She whines while rubbing the sore spot as Mina gives her a motherly glare.

“Stop hesitating and just do it.”

“Geez! Fine, you Nike endorser.”

*

Sana finally yields after thinking deeply of Mina’s words, not to mention Momo has been on her tail relentlessly every day. She can’t help the flutter in her chest when Momo jumps up and down with her wide grin, lifting her up in a crushing hug and twirling them around. It takes a lot of yelping and slapping to stop the girl from accidentally throwing Sana in the air from her over-excitement. Sana turns around to pull Mina along with the hug, only to see the retreating back of the latter walking away from them. 

Things haven’t changed that much for the newly established couple. They still do the little things they did as bestfriend. But Sana realized there’s a little bit more meaning to it when she remind herself that Momo’s doing it because she likes her. It’s a little weird, but it feels good to be pampered by Momo. Usually they would banter around just to annoy one another, but seeing the gentle and soft side of Momo is a nice change.

They still bicker over small things, but it was more of a playful fight which has Momo giving in immediately from Sana’s heart-crushing pout. They still walk together to school, only it involves hand-holding with Momo’s adorable grin plastered along the way. The simple things like warning Sana of the small hole on the road or exchanging position so Momo would walk on the road side had more meaning to it now. They still eat together during lunch, with Momo’s stealth attempt of feeding Sana with the reason that she’s getting thinner and not eating properly.

Sana starts noticing the little changes in Momo’s action and gesture, and she can’t say they don’t have any effect on her. She begins craving for more, to the point that she’s the one asking for Momo’s attention and initiating skinship when they hang out together. However, there’s one more thing she’s been taking note of.

Mina’s lack of presence. Or rather, Mina’s avoidance every time they ask her to spend time together.

She noticed how Mina had been spending less time with them, starting with the girl’s missing presence during their supposedly lunch time together. She asked Momo of Mina’s whereabouts, only for the former to respond that she’s busy with school work after abruptly joining the student council as a committee member. Sana is shocked to find out Mina had kept her in the dark from this information; she usually is the first to hear from the timid girl for these sort of things. She decided to do what Mina would do in this situation; confrontation.

It’s Friday when Sana thought of a spontaneous plan to get her timid friend to hang out together. She glanced at her wristwatch while leaning on the side wall of the school gate, waiting for Mina’s appearance from the building entrance. Just as she had timed, Mina walks out of the entrance while trying to put some papers in her sling bag. A smile adorns Sana’s face from the sight, it’s been days since she last saw Mina and she misses the shy but sassy girl who always knows what to do or say at the right time. She calls for her, the latter clearly surprised with her presence.

“What are you still doing here, Sa-tan? Shouldn’t you be at home by now?”

Sana shakes her head with a smile, “I’m waiting for you.”

“Eh? What for?”

“To ask you out!”

“Ehh... B-But, you and Momo-rin?”

Sana chuckled from her friend’s absurd thoughts, “No, silly. I’m asking you out as friends. It has been a while since we hang out together.”

“Oh.” Mina paused with an unreadable look on her face, “Is Momo-rin going to be there too?”

“Yeah.” Sana nods with a grin. “She misses you too.”

Mina's curious expression immediately morphed to an apologetic look, “I’m really sorry, Sa-tan. But not today...”

“Okay, stop.” Sana put a hand on her waist as her expression changed to a stern one. “You’re avoiding us, aren’t you?”

“No... I’m not.”

“You’re hesitating, Mi-tan.”

Mina sighed exasperatedly, “Look, I really need to go. I don’t feel well and a relative is coming later tonight so I need to help with the preparations.”

Sana gives her a glare while trying to read her expression, the latter giving her a desperate look before she heard Momo’s voice calling for Sana from the distant.

“Sa-tan, please.” Her gaze softens from Mina’s pleading.

“Okay, fine. But you’re not getting away next time.”

“I’m really sorry.” Mina muttered before hastily walking out of the gate without even sparing a glance to the approaching Momo.

“So? Did you find Mina?” Sana put on her best smile before shaking her head, “They said she already left.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.” Momo frowns, only for it to be replaced with her dopey grin. “Let’s just hang out together, then!”

“Just us? Ah, how boring.”

“Hey! You did not say that!”

“I just did, though.”

Sana sticks her tongue out playfully before running away while Momo give chase to her. Unknown to the two, the timid girl is standing behind a tree, watching forlornly as the couple jokes around while chasing each other with joyful laughter. She turns around when the girls are getting farther away, wiping a tear trailing down her cheek.

*

They were walking to school hand in hand when Sana noticed her partner’s blank stare. She was silent, which is unusual because Momo would have been giving her cheesy lines and lame jokes each day, just because she wanted to see Sana’s pretty laugh. Not that Sana would be void of any laughter even for a moment in her life; she is indeed the giggling machine between the three of them. Sana tilts her head to catch her attention, but the girl was too distraught to notice her teasing smile.

“Hup!” She pokes Momo's cheek, catching the latter in surprise.

“W-What?”

“You’re frowning.”

“I am?”

Momo's hand wanders to her frowning face, receiving a giggling fit from Sana. She frowns deeper, but it changed into an embarrass pout when Sana teased her again.

“You’re cute.” Sana pinched her cheek, earning a groan from the latter. “But what’s bothering you?”

Momo heaves out a sigh, her pout deepening as she mumbles “I miss Mina.”

Sana retracts her hand as she mirrored Momo’s feature because she too feels the same. She thought she was the only one missing the timid girl but she forgot that Momo has been with Mina far longer than her. They practically grew up together so Momo will surely realize her best friend is purposely avoiding them. It’s just that Momo is Momo; she has difficulty voicing out her thoughts, just like how Mina is. Sana wasn’t sure how did they get close with this kind of one-sided communication, but they made it work. They understand each other perfectly to a point that Sana had once envy their easy-going relationship which only consist of small talks and more of gestures and facial expression.

The day passed by rather gloomy and silent for them. It’s understandable that Momo is feeling blue from Mina’s absence, but Sana couldn’t find a reason why she’s also caught up in this grey cloud which had sucked the liveliness out of her. Perhaps, she’s been spending too much time with Momo to be affected with her daily mood swings. She feels rather drained, and she doesn’t like it. Not a single bit.

With a resolve, she made a sudden turn to Mina’s house after separating with Momo on their way back from school. She had somehow managed to keep updated of Mina’s schedule and knowing the latter is probably still in her ballet class, she leans on the side wall of the massive gate of Mina’s house, patiently waiting while watching the clouds slowly floating along with the gentle breeze of the wind. 

Mina lets out a tired yawn while adjusting the strap of her backpack, her steps getting heavier by the seconds. She inwardly cheers at the sight of her house roof from the distance, only to feel wary of a presence squatting down in front of the gate. Upon closer inspection, her lips lifted at the sight of her friend distractedly playing with a black stray cat, or more like, the cat is playing with Sana as she is the one jumping up and down while the little fluffball only gives her a stare with a tilted head. Mina claps her hand twice, catching attention of the cat and a surprised Sana slowly getting up to greet her.

“Kuro-chan!” She calls for the cat, already familiar with the frequent visitor who always steals her mother’s fried fish. She heard a small groan, raising her head to meet a pouting Sana with folded arms.

“What?”

“You greet him first instead of me.”

Mina shrugs, in a mood to be playful with her friend. “He’s cute.”

Sana gasped, offended. “And I’m not?”

Mina merely laughs before poking her tongue out, only to be tackled by Sana with her signature bear hug. She lets out a squeal, loud enough to startle the black cat who hissed before running away to his hiding place.

“What are you doing here, Sa-tan?” Mina asked in between her giggles.

“I miss you, dummy!” She squeezed the girl tightly, getting another high-pitched squeal. “Momo misses you too, you know?”

She feels the girl in her arms stiffen, her laughter suddenly disappeared before she pulls away. Sensing the sudden turn of mood, Sana quickly grabs Mina’s arm to prevent her from getting away, again.

“Mina, is something wrong?”

Mina avoids her pleading eyes while trying to free herself from Sana’s grip, but today it seems like Sana is getting stronger than her.

“It’s about Momo, right?” Sana points out, before speaking out her thought of Mina’s withdrawal from them.

“You like her.”

Mina whips her head in surprise to the girl who mentally applaud herself for the right answer, which weirdly doesn’t sit well with her for some reasons.

“I... I don’t know –”

“Oh, hush.” Sana raised a hand, “Just admit that you like her, Mina. I can see through your actions.”

Mina clamps her mouth shut as she ducks her head low. She lets out a sigh, reluctantly nodding to Sana’s assumption. Devastated with the sight, Sana's hand automatically reached out to pat the girl’s head, prompting Mina to look at her with teary eyes.

“You’re... not mad?”

“Why would I?”

“Because both of you -”

Sana quickly pulls the dejected girl into her arms, rubbing her back gently as Mina let out the tears she’s been holding.

“Since when?”

“I don’t know.” She heard Mina sobs out the answer, her chest hurting more from the choking sound rather than the fact that someone else is having feelings for her partner. She decides to let Mina calm down first before firing the bullets of questions playing in her head.

“So you actually really like Momo all this while?” Sana asked after the girl had calm down a bit. She helps dry the falling tears with the sleeve of her uniform, receiving a small nod for her question.

“So all the teasing I did was actually...?” Mina nods again, this time with pink hue colouring her cheeks.

“Wow, seems like Momo-rin is the only one oblivious.”

“Volleyball makes her hit her head frequently, you know?”

Mina made her promise not to tell the oblivious star player about her feelings. Sana can bear with keeping more secrets from the dumb girl; she’s naive for a reason. But what she can’t fathom was how easy it is for Mina to put aside her feelings for Momo. It must be painful to see the person you like, liking someone else. It was just a stupid crush, Mina stated firmly after the little argument they had.

Sana still can’t understand how love works, she doesn’t even know if what she’s feeling for Momo right now is really love or just a fond affection. She really looks up to Momo, but she’s still confused with her thoughts of the girl romantically. Even so with Mina pushing her to try liking Momo despite her own feelings, Sana feels like she’s stuck in a room where there’s no door. The only way out is down, having to force herself to fall down the depth of uncertainty while drowning herself in more thoughts.

*

Sana has been trying her best to cheer up her partner, the girl with bangs had been busy with the preparation for the interstate qualifying competition. Which means, they are spending lesser time together, resulting in a more clingy Momo. It’s cute and endearing to discover the always grumbling girl have another surprisingly adorable side to her and Sana feels privileged to see it, with an exception to a certain penguin-like girl.

“She’s only like that when she’s stressed out over something.” Mina had once exposed with a deep groan when she saw Momo tailing the penguin all day long while pestering to be tutored and begging for last minute tips for their exams.

Since Momo has been going for her daily practice after school, it’s been a normal occurrence that she had found solace in the timid girl’s company. Mina had been adamant on keeping Sana away from her because she had once saw the discomfort on Momo’s face when the shiba look-alike jumped to her side, tightly hugging her arms that one evening after school. It was awkward; she noticed the frequent side-glances with the apparent deep frown of the volleyball player. But Sana is Sana; Mina can’t force herself to pull away from the touchy girl even if she wanted to. 

Sana was aware of it, but it was mostly misunderstanding on Mina’s side. Momo’s been missing the diligent girl a lot and she had caught up that she was the cause of Mina’s avoidance from them. The star player had tried to start up conversation with Mina, but the latter quickly turns her attention to Sana, blatantly ignoring the frowning girl.

Being the good friend she is, Sana attempted all kinds of plans she had in her head to get them to talk. But these two have heads of steel; their stubbornness are on par with each other that no matter what cheeky approach Sana tried to get them to be on better terms, both would clamped shut and withdraw from the slightest interaction.

Hence, another approach is to spend time with either of them when she’s able to and keep on updating these two girls of the other’s well being.

“Mina’s play is this Saturday.”

She nonchalantly said while passing a bottle of isotonic drink to Momo, her eyebrows quirk up from the information.

“Really?” She was about to grin when a thought cross her head. “Wait, my game is on Saturday too!”

Sana nods with a sad smile. “Just a heads up that Mina might not show up for your game.”

“Oh.” She dejectedly replied, her eyes downcasted to the bottle she's clenching. “Well, not that I expect her to be there with how things are.”

Sana lets out a long sigh as she grabs Momo’s hand for her attention, before threading their fingers together. “Momo, it’s not what you think it is.”

“Then, what?”

Sana’s forehead creased from Momo’s accusing tone, “What?”

“She’s been avoiding me for almost a month now and don’t think I’m that stupid but you know why, don’t you Sana?”

“Mina... has her reasons.”

Momo scoffed as she tears their interlocked fingers away. “Fine, don’t tell me anything.”

Just like that, the conversation ends. She pities Momo, but there was nothing she could do except to inform the stubborn ballerina for her troublesome silent treatment.

“How long are you going to keep this up, Mi-tan?”

She watches Sana from the reflection on the mirror, taking her time to regain her breath after warming down and reaching for her water bottle on the floor.

“I don’t know.” She answered truthfully, her lips and eyebrows turning into straight lines.

“Mi-tan, she’s having a hard time.”

“That’s when you need to act out your role.” The corner of her lips lifted, but void of the usual shine. “You guys are together now, Sa-tan.”

“But she needs you.” Sana wraps her arms around Mina’s exposed waist, her chin landing on Mina’s right shoulder. “You should see Momo. She’s a wreck when you’re not around.”

She chuckles lightly, leaning herself back into Sana’s embrace. “You think she’s going to forgive me?”

“She’s Momo.” Sana giggles, along with the girl in her arms. “She can never get mad at her Mi-tan.”

*

Sana had scheduled her day perfectly that Saturday, enabling her to see both of her friends in their glories. Mina’s ballet recital would begin late in the evening; she had already promised to be there and had even asked for an extra ticket in case she lost one knowing how clumsy she gets these days. She reasoned that maybe Momo’s aloofness had started to rub on her too when the ballerina gave her a strange look. Momo’s game would start any minute now and expecting it won’t last more than a couple of hours based on their previous friendly games, she can still make it if she can rush through the afternoon subway to the ballet recital venue.

It feels a bit lonely as she gazed to the empty seat beside her. It should have been Mina’s seat even if she can’t make it. It has been a tradition that both of their attendances are compulsory for every game, even if Momo was benched on certain games. They love seeing the sparks on Momo’s usual sleepy face when she’s on the court; those eyes would shine like the brightest star in the sky.

Mina would usually be the subject of her teasing; she would be caught gaping on the star player a tad too long with a faint adored smile and light blush covering her cheeks. Mina reasoned it was because of the heat, but she can't escape Sana's sharp eyes. It wasn’t news that Mina had been long crushing on her best friend, and Sana kind of hates herself for being the third wheel of their friendship. She wants nothing more than to be the supporter and admire their deep connection from the sideline. It was too precious to be broken just by the presence of an outsider, such as herself.

She feels that small pang in her chest, the one she’s been trying to ignore at times whenever these depressing thoughts would appear. She had to remind herself a few times to keep herself together and make sure not to dwell too much on her feelings because she’s not the only one having a bad time; others got it worse.

In the midst of musing to herself, she feels someone plopping down on the empty seat. She was about to politely shoo the person away, only to widen her eyes from the blinding gummy smile before her.

“Miss me?”

The girl is slightly panting with her long black hair sticking out all over the place. Sana almost gushes at the realization that Mina had probably run her way here for Momo’s game, probably leaving in the middle of her rehearsal session.

“Mi-tan, you came!”

“Well, a certain star player needs her gorgeous sidekick loud cheer so...” She shrugs while trying her best to brush the disarrayed hair with her fingers. Sana let out a giggle before pulling the girl into a side hug. She pulls away after hearing a loud groan, before helping Mina with her messy hair.

“Don’t want her to die of shock from your ‘gorgeous’ appearance.”

“Rude.”

When they turn their attention to the court, it seems someone else is surprised as well as she gawks on their direction, trying to make out Mina’s presence among the audience. The girl raised her hand to wave; the star player caught it as she grins widely with an excited flap of her arm.

“Told you she’d be ecstatic.”

“It’s Momo-rin, she’s always excited.”

“Exactly.”

They shared a laugh before joining in the cheers, loudly yelling and clapping for Momo’s name when the ball meets contact with her hands. They don’t know the rules much but they do know how to be the best of friends for Momo. The game ended with their school team winning, making the volleyball team qualified for the interstate championship tournament. They holler for Momo’s name, jumping on their seats as the team throw the girl a few times up in the air to celebrate their win. Sana was about to pull Mina down the court to join the celebration when she sees her checking the time on her watch with a frown.

“You’re going already?”

“I’m already late as it is.” She smiled apologetically. “Say congratulations to Momo-rin for me, okay?” Mina squeezed her arm, receiving an encouraging nod from the latter.

“I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah.”

She silently watched as Mina rushes out to the staircase and disappears through the doors. She can feel eyes on her, already expecting the dejected look of her partner when she turns around. Truth to be told, Momo is giving her a questioning look with a frown obvious on her face. She really stood out from the happy crowd with that sad expression so Sana mouthed out ‘ballet’ while pointing to her watch, hoping the girl would cheer up again. Her fingers had accidentally slipped inside her sling bag, touching the sharp end of the ticket for Mina’s play. She takes it out, revealing two slips of the rectangle invitation card. A light bulb flashes in her head.

~

Two girls can be seen running out of the subway staircase as they slither through the crowds, one excitedly pulling her confused partner to an unknown destination. It’s a surprise, she said, but she followed without asking much thinking it might be the celebratory dinner the three of them promised to have after the game. They reached to a stop in front of a large auditorium while panting for breaths. Sana glanced at her watch, eyebrows rising in worry before tugging Momo’s arm towards the door. She presents two tickets to the receptionist who gives them a wary look, followed by a smile while pointing to another set of doors. Sana mumbles a thank you before leading them inside.

The place is almost full but they manage to get seats by the door, giving small apologies to the few people directing glares to them for interrupting the silence of the dim room.

“We made it!” Sana breathes out in hush whisper, meeting concerned eyes of Momo as she observe the place curiously.

“Yeah... where are we exactly?”

“An auditorium, duh.”

“I know that, but what are we doing here? I thought we’re having dinner? Is this some kind of special gift for my game?”

“Kind of.” Sana grins while squeezing Momo’s hand, trying to ease her obvious anxiousness. “Don’t worry, you’re going to love it.”

The place suddenly turns dark, a spotlight flashing towards the stage. A figure appeared from the shadow and upon detailed inspection of the way the person brought herself, it was palpable who it is by the sharp gasp coming from Momo.

“She’s the prima ballerina tonight.” Sana points out.

Throughout the play, no words were exchanged by the couple. They are watching intently, mesmerized by the fluid and intense movement of the once timid, small girl. Mina’s graceful acting was full of expressions; they don’t feel like watching Mina at all. She is like a different person, another persona of the role she’s acting out. Momo is watching with her jaw agape, sometimes squeezing Sana’s hand when her best friend effortlessly perform the hard-looking poses and moves because Mina, for the first time, is beautiful and bold. It’s a new kind of experience, a new side of Mina she hadn’t known, had miss, if Sana didn’t drag her here.

Sana observes the girl on her side with amusement. She had always barged in on Mina’s self-practice before so she wasn’t as affected as Momo is, but she is still enthralled by the ballerina’s performance today. Everything screams perfection as Mina had worked hard for today’s play, especially since she’s the main character. That’s the reason she was insistent that she would make it to Mina’s first play ever. And to see how Momo reacted to the girl on stage was worth it. The volleyball player had perhaps clapped the loudest, being the first one to jump on her feet for a standing ovation as the play ends wonderfully.

Mina had just finished changing into her casual clothes, still with her hair up and make up on when two girls barge inside the green room. They were led by a staff who gives Mina a grin and thumbs up to congratulate her performance. She had expected Sana’s presence, the latter is wrapping her in a tight hug which she gladly reciprocates. But she was overly surprised to see Momo standing by the door with a sheepish smile on her face.

“You and Momo-rin...” She pulled away while pointing to her friends in bewilderment. “But... – how?”

“I got the spare ticket, remember?” Sana winked in triumph before pushing the shy Momo towards the ballerina. They had yet to spare any words and Sana takes a few steps backwards to give them some space for the well-deserved conversation they needed.

“Congratulations.” Mina coyly said with hands on her back. “For winning the game. You played well, I mean - you were great, as always.”

“Ah, yeah... Thanks.” Momo rubs her nape awkwardly, her eyes catching Mina staring back with an expectant look. “Your play was good, too. It was really... wonderful.”

Sana almost roll her eyes from the suffocating scene of these two idiots. Wanting to save them from further embarrassing each other, she comes in between before wounding her arms on their neck, squeezing the whining girls together in a huddle, their heads bumping in the middle.

“There! Now make peace!” She exclaimed loudly, earning audible groans and soft giggles, soon booming into laughter. To others, it might seem like a crazy sight to see for them to suddenly burst out laughing out of nowhere. For the girls, it’s a common occurrence, a tacit understanding that can only be acknowledged by their deep bond of friendship. Mina had invited them to join for a late dinner with her family, which Momo had agreed within seconds. Sana laughed as the girl was teased by Mina’s father for her huge appetite, at the same time watching with admiration of how easy it is for her partner to converse with Mina’s parents. It had made her realize how much she misses this, how much she misses having the two dorks by her side.

It was a step closer to her secret plan she’s been devising for the two, and she is proud with how it had worked out in the end.

*

Sana had volunteered to clean the house the next day as her mother leaves early in the morning for work. She’s in high spirit despite it being the last day of the weekend. It might had to do with the mended friendship of Mina and Momo that had transpired due to her brilliant plan. She happily hums to herself at the thought while carrying the vacuum cleaner to the living room.

After thoroughly sucking all the dust and dirt in every nooks and crevices, Sana wipes her sweaty forehead while loudly huffing out air from her mouth. She scans the living room one more time before smiling in satisfaction. She proceeds with wiping the tables and cupboards when she was met with scattered papers on one of the shelves. Not wanting to wet the papers with the napkin, knowing some of them might be important or related to her mother’s work, Sana quickly stacks them together before putting them safely in the provided box. She is absentmindedly scanning through another set of papers when her eyes caught the foreign words on one of the letters.

She immediately recognizes the characters, the bold Korean words had piqued her interest. It had been years since she left the country, but thankfully her memory with the foreign language isn’t too rusty. She had managed to read it in one go, happily clapping to herself for successfully making a perfect translation in her head. She decides to test herself more, feeling somewhat challenged to know the current level of her Korean language skill after years of separating herself from it.

Only to regret her curiosity as her excited face changed into a deep frown from the next paragraph.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Samo, mimo, misana, mimosa, samosa... that sounds delicious. Eh, nani the heck?  
> If there's a mimo reader here, do check out my [Yakuza/Ninja AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29090889) to compensate for the lack of updates eheh.
> 
> Thank you for reading and do take care, okay??? Okayyy!


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a hard decision, but Sana decided to follow her heart this time.  
> "L-Let's go back."

Sana mindlessly flipped through the pages of her textbook, her forehead tightly scrunched in intense concentration. As a matter of fact, she is actually deep in thought, the book acting as a cover to prevent her classmates from disturbing her peace in the library. She can’t stop thinking about the letter she found yesterday, stating of an offer to permanently work in the publishing company’s branch in South Korea. Most of the words were complicated but Sana knew from the vague translation that the privilege presented to her mother is a big deal. Her mother might be getting a raise in her pay and probably proper working hours, in contrast with her current job.

Her thoughts drift back to the days her mother would be cooking Korean meals instead of the usual bento supposedly prepared by her grandmother, a feat that deems impossible with her busy working schedule. Her mother’s cooking is decent, perhaps not the best, but she had missed the food so much that she had enjoyed it rather than complaining about the overly cooked _rabokki_ or the salty _kimbap_ (it was as if half of the salt had spilled from the container, mind you).

Then she remembered that one day her mother had played a song from the famous Kpop girl group in Korea. She had been singing off key while doing the driving-the-wheel dance. It was funny, but entertaining as Sana also joins in the fun. It’s one of her favourite songs, after all. There were also some instances where her mother suddenly responded to her questions with _“omo”_ or _“yah”_ , sometimes _“jinjja”_ which happens quite frequently.

Yeah, now that she thinks about it, her mother had been sending her some signals before but it hadn’t occurred to her the meaning behind it.

The notion that her mother is keeping this from her doesn’t sit well with Sana. It had been bugging her a lot, she decided to seclude herself alone in the library during free time to at least have some peace of mind. Well, it doesn’t seem to occur to an airhead that she needs space as the girl takes the opposite seat with a lollipop in her mouth. Another followed suit, putting her books on the empty table while taking out the chair from Sana’s side gracefully.

They wait for the girl to notice their presence, which was useless as she’s still deeply buried in her book. They shared looks; Momo raising her brows while Mina shakes her head with the same expression. Mina gets closer, taking a glimpse of the wordings in the book, before clamping her mouth with a hand. She gestured to Momo, pointing to the book while her body shakes from laughter. Seeming to catch on, Momo’s face perks up in amusement.

“Stop laughing, Mina.” She voiced out with her eyes still on the book, “I’m trying to read here.”

“Actually, you don’t have to try so hard if it wasn’t upside down.”

Her pale complexion turns pinkish at the realization that indeed, she’s been holding the book in a wrong way. She grumbles, slamming the book shut before burying her face on the table as snickers and muffled laughter surrounds the table.

“How did you guys find me?” She mumbled, her voice barely audible with her current position.

“You stuck out like a sore thumb in here.” Momo teases with a snort. “Only Mina suits to be in the library.”

“True.” Mina agreed with a firm nod, getting another loud grumble from Sana.

“Spare me, please.” They laugh silently, but stop after seeing the frown still apparent on Sana’s face.

“What’s up with you? You’ve been gloomy since morning.” Momo voiced her concern after watching Sana acting rather indifferent that day. She thought Sana would be happy now that Mina had decided to join them again for their customary morning and evening walk, but something was amiss.

Mina leans closer, trying to catch her eyes. “Did something happen yesterday?”

Sana mulls over the options if she should tell them about her worries or not. It is still trivial; she still hasn’t had the liberty to properly translate the whole content of the letter due to the limitations of her vocabulary. Blame it on her ignorance to improve her Hangul once she started getting comfortable with her native language. Besides, it would be unwise to jump to conclusions without knowing the truth first.

“It’s my first day of period.” She blurts the first thing that came to her mind.

She groans when Momo starts her lecture of being an overly-concerned girlfriend while giving her some life-worthy tips on how to overcome the mood swings, which doesn’t stray much from the topic of food. Her expertise, of course.

*

_She was crouching under the tree house in the backyard of her home, watching intently at the small little fluff ball poking its head out of the shrub by the wooden gate. She tilts her head when the furry little creature raises its ear and stops munching on the piece of carrot she had given. As if startled, it retreated back inside its hidden place, causing the little girl to pout from its disappearance._

_However, it was quickly replaced with a grin when she heard a male voice calling for her name. She ran towards the man, his arms waiting for her usual body slam before twirling her around up in the air. They shared joyous laughter before the girl left a wet kiss on the man’s cheek and wrapping her small arms on his neck._

_“I missed you, Papa.”_

_The man laughed, pinching her chubby cheek with his free hand. “I haven’t even boarded the plane yet, silly.”_

_“But you didn’t play with me today!”_

_He guffawed from his daughter’s antics. “You were the one who left after breakfast, running to the house next door and excitedly looking for her. Don’t you remember?”_

_She pouted deeply while crossing her arms, only to giggle cheerfully when her father tickled her side._

_“Honey, your taxi is here!”_

_He put the little girl down and stroked her silky dark brown hair, giving her cheeks a little squeeze with both palms just to mess with her._

_“Remember your promise?”_

_She gave him a determined nod, “To always take care of Mama for you.”_

_“You’re forgetting something else.”_

_She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, “And her. I remember that!”_

_“But you didn’t say it.”_

_“It’s too long!”_

_“Fine, fine... take care, Sana. Papa loves you, okay?”_

Sana blinks her eyes a few times, slowly adjusting to the brightness in her room and taking in the surroundings. She squeezed her eyes shut again, wishing she didn’t have to wake up and stay in the dream forever. It was the second dream that week, similar to the previous one she had a few days back.

She recalls a few months after her father’s death how she’s been having these vivid recollections of her memories with her late father, only they came in the form of dreams. She had cried herself to sleep, only to wake up crying again. The same thing repeated again and again, but rather than agonizing over it, Sana treated the dreams as her blissful escapades; from the reality that her father had left, never to return. It went on for months and she didn’t even realize when it had stopped because she never spoke about her sleep problems with anyone; not even her mother.

Sana doesn’t know what triggered it this time, but she had a hunch it had something to do with her discovery last week. She had yet to question her mother about the offer letter; she doesn’t know how to start and not spoil the mood. She is trying to find the perfect timing, soon. For now, she needs to confide in someone about this. Someone with a clear head and rational judgement.

She patiently waits outside of the student council room, absentmindedly stroking on a leaf of the huge plant beside the door. She wonders if it was misplaced by the school gardener, or had been donated by a generous teacher who’s trying to throw away this eye sore from his house, because it definitely doesn’t belong here.

All alone, in this empty hallway, having no importance to anyone, or rather, being a nuisance for blocking the way instead.

“What are you doing?”

Mina gives her a judging look from the way Sana had been lovingly stroking the plastic leaf, which the latter responded with a lazy grin.

“Took you long enough.” She pushed herself off the wall. “I was entertaining myself with the plant.”

“If it wasn’t made of plastic, I would have believed they planted weed in that pot.”

“Wow, Myoui-san is getting overworked over a decoration.”

“I’ve been stuck with you guys for years. I guess your crazy thoughts are rubbing me off in a bad way.”

Sana lets out a small chuckle, which surprised Mina. Usually Sana would let out a big laugh showing her teeth, but not this time. She is aware Sana had been acting weird; she doesn’t have the same usual liveliness. She had actually believed it was because of the hormonal imbalance, as claimed, added with the stress of studying and whatnots. Now, she’s not so sure anymore.

“Something’s bothering you.”

“Hm?”

“You were waiting for me instead of watching Momo’s practice. That usually means trouble.”

“Hey!” She shoves Mina lightly, earning a light giggle from the girl. “I guess I can’t escape from your keen observation, huh?”

Sana begins retelling the day she found the letter and the content while Mina calmly listens, nodding to every detail like the good listener she is. She avoided the problems regarding her dreams. She can handle it fine as it’s not really bothering her sleep cycle at the moment, and if it is true she’s having this same dream due to over thinking about the letter, then the solution is already in her mind.

“Have you asked your mother?”

“No.” Sana shakes her head, “I’m not sure how to bring it up. I mean, it might have been a misunderstanding or mistranslation from me. My Korean has been out of form since I came here. It could be an old letter instead or she’s just translating for someone else since she is working as a translator or it might be a recycle paper she accidentally brought back home because you know she is kind of –“

“Hey.” Mina gently grabs her arm, startling the talking girl. “You’re rambling.”

“Sorry.” She winced at the slip up before sighing with an apologetic look, only to feel a squeeze on her arm.

“You should really ask her.” Mina suggested with an encouraging smile. “That’s the only solution I can give you.”

Taking Mina’s advice to heart, Sana decided it would be best to confront her mother as soon as possible. It’s not that she hadn’t thought about it but she needs some sort of a push from someone she trusted and she is thankful Mina knows just what to do.

Sunday came and her mother had taken a leave after sacrificing her one day holiday last week for a sudden live news broadcast that needed her as a translator. Her grandmother had left before sunrise to tend to her grocery shop so it’s the perfect opportunity to engage in a quiet conversation with her mother without any interruption. Sana peeks through the small slit of her bedroom, catching her mother by the stove cooking eggs for breakfast. With small steps, she approaches the woman clad in an apron before offering to help.

“What do you want to drink today, Mama?”

She noticed the weird glance directed to her, but ignored it as she reached for her mother’s mug.

“Tea would be fine.”

“Chamomile?”

Sana suggested, knowing how it has a calming effect for her mother, perfect for their conversation later. She received a nod and a smile, gladly preparing for the drink. She drools at the sight of sunny-side up eggs on top of the fluffy, warm white rice with _miso_ soup and dried anchovies as a side dish.

“I’m sorry this is all I can prepare.”

“Mama, I’m already happy I have food for breakfast.” She beams, “I kinda miss your cooking, too.”

“Even if it’s just fried eggs?”

“A perfectly fried sunny side up eggs!” Sana exclaimed with a giggle, her mother following suit.

“How are you, Mama?”

“Eh?” Her eyes widened from the question before she put a hand on her chest. “My daughter is asking about me? She has really grown up!”

Sana rolled her eyes from her mother’s dramatic fake crying, a smile playing on her lips. She might look like a strict mother who likes to nag a lot, but she can be funny and be lively at times too. It was one of her mother’s charms which had her father fall in love with the woman. An independent, witty lady with a big heart who likes to randomly be (cutely) funny.

“You’ve been getting home a lot later than usual, and you look... tired.” Sana glanced up from her bowl with a slight frown, “I’m just wondering if you’re doing fine, Mama.”

The woman in question feels a pang in her chest, feeling proud and a bit sad that her daughter had really grown up, becoming the considerate and caring young girl she is. Truth to be told, she was indeed feeling a bit under the weather. The company has been trying to rush on the deadlines, forcing the translator’s team to give all their best to finish everything within the time set for the next publication. She had started to feel the effect of having to sit for hours in front of a small computer, her back getting more painful along with the numbness around her wrist. She puts on the best smile she could muster to reassure Sana that everything is under control.

“I’ve been working overtime but they promised a bonus by the end of the month so I need to work harder.”

She received a concerned stare instead.

“It’s really fun and the content for next month’s edition is really interesting. There’s nothing to worry about.” She explains excitedly, hoping it would lessen Sana’s worry of her workload.

However, she doesn’t expect to be abruptly asked with the next question.

“Do you miss Korea?”

“Well...” She stops, thinking of the appropriate words and sentences to say. Maybe she needs to be a bit honest with Sana, considering her daughter is already matured enough to listen to her inner struggles. She puts down the bowl, reaching for the mug and taking a sip while gathering her thoughts.

“I do miss Korea. It was my second home after my hometown, and also the place where I met your father.” A smile plays on her lips, affecting Sana as well at the mention of her late father. “You also grew up over there, so there are a lot of precious memories in that place. But life moves on, Sana. I need to move on, and keep moving forward for the both of us. It will be a piece of our shared memories, your father and I, that had been left behind but I have a life here now, together with you. I would love to be back there, someday... when the right time comes.”

She sees the sadness in her mother’s eyes, how she tries so hard to hide the loneliness and silent grieving. It had been years, but it’s not enough for her mother to let go and accept the loss of the man she loves. She feels it too, how a piece of her went missing as the days go by but it must be harder for her mother, losing a partner who means the world to her.

“What if the right time is now?”

“Eh...?” The woman gives her daughter a confused look, “What are you saying, Sana?”

She bit her lip in guilt, and decided to come clean. It’s now or never, she thought.

“I’m sorry for touching your things, Mama... but I saw the offer letter.”

Her mother blinks twice, “What?”

She sighs, dropping her chopsticks on the table and straightening her back. “I saw the letter when I was cleaning the shelves. You got an offer to work in South Korea, right?”

She watches her mother gulping nervously, taking another long sip of the already stale tea, probably an attempt to calm her nerves. So she was correct all along, and her mother is hiding it from her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s not really important. You don’t have to know.”

Her eyebrows scrunched from the plain reply. “Why? You think I can’t understand what you’ve been going through to feed me and pay for my school fee? I’m not a kid anymore, Mama –”

“Because you’re happy here!”

Sana was stunned with her mother’s raised voice. The woman stood up, taking careful steps to her daughter before kneeling to her level. She grabbed Sana’s hands, prompting the girl to look at her.

“I don’t care what the job offers, Sana. All I care about is your happiness.” She smiled, squeezing her hands to affirm the girl of her decision. “I don’t want to repeat the same mistake again by making rash decisions on my own.”

The young girl softens her gaze with the reason her mother gave. “What’s the offer?”

Her mother paused, closing her eyes while exhaling air from her nose. “They’re giving me the Head Editor position.”

“What?” Sana gasped, surprised with her mother’s promotion of getting one of the highest positions in the company. “Mama, why did you refuse that?!”

“Sana, calm down. I haven’t decided on anything yet. They give me until the end of this month, so it’s enough time to think about it.”

“But why?”

“Like I said,” She strokes her daughter’s head affectionately, pushing a stray hair behind her ear. “You are my priority, Sana. We will go there when the time is right, and when you are ready.”

*

“So, she’s basically dropping the burden on you.”

“I hate that I have to agree with you on this.”

They are sitting on the usual spot for their lunch break, except it was already the end of school hour. Mina is casually sitting on the ground with her head leaned back on the brick wall, while Sana is anxiously pacing in front of her. She had intended to do a light study in the library after her supposedly meeting with the student council committees was cancelled abruptly. Momo is still in her volleyball practice and since she had specifically made a promise to the star player that she’s not going to miss walking back home together in exchange for an ice cream treat, she decided to stay back. Only to be hunted by an overly excited Sana who was glad to find her on the way to the library before dragging her to this place. Her eyes followed Sana’s repetitive movement for a while before she got dizzy and turned her gaze to the sky above.

“I can’t understand.” Sana huffed loudly, “Why would I be involved in making the decision?”

“It is a lifetime decision, Sana. She doesn’t want you to feel left out, I suppose.”

“Yeah, right... I’m not a child.”

“But it is important that you have a say in this too. Like you said, you’re not a child so you have the right to make a decision for your own sake.”

“I guess...”

The corner of her lips quirks up from the distressed face of her friend which she found cute. “Your mother might not want to repeat the same mistake. You did say before that you were reluctant to live here at first because it was too sudden and she never listens to you.”

“Yeah, but that was before I met you guys!”

“Oh, so we were the reason you stayed?” Mina gives her a teasing smirk.

“You wish.” Sana kicks a small pebble towards the laughing girl with an annoyed face, albeit the subtle smile playing on her lips. “Maybe because I see my mother’s effort to keep everything the same as before, and make sure we can live like a normal family. I just thought I have to do my best to show her that I can take care of myself, too.”

Mina stills for a few seconds, before looking up with a suggestive raise of her eyebrows. “Maybe that’s the part that she understands but you don’t.”

“Huh?”

“That she has you to trust and rely on instead.”

The words hit her like a sudden revelation, opening her muddled mind to the possibility that her mother is having faith in her. She is having faith that Sana would do what is best for the both of them and she will support her in everything.

“You don’t have anyone except each other, Sana.” Mina pulls the solemn girl to her side, linking their arms together to provide her with some kind of consolation. “She needs you as much as you need her.”

“Wow.” Sana breathes out in wonder. “Did you know you just blew my mind with your explanation?”

Mina shrugs, not quite sure herself. “I just twist your own words to something more simple? If that makes sense...”

“Are you sure you’re not a witch in disguise, Mi-chan?” She gives Mina a suspicious look, which the latter responded with a roll of her eyes.

“Why did you come to me, though?”

“Ehhh?” Sana deliberately pouts before leaning closer with their arms still linked together. “I can’t come to you complaining about my worries now? I thought we’re friends, Mi-chann!”

Mina giggles from Sana’s smooching attack, pushing a palm to the kissing monster’s face to stop her advances.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind being your personal counsellor.” Mina gently flicks her forehead, “But shouldn’t you be talking to Momo about this?”

Sana stops her teasing and pulls away, her finger unconsciously rubbing her nose as she thinks of an answer for that question. The most complicated question she had ever encountered aside from the mathematics quiz last week.

“I just... I don’t know. I don’t feel like telling her about this.”

“Sana, she’s your girlfriend.”

“Yeah, Mina’s right.” Momo suddenly appeared from the corner, her arms folded together with a scorn apparent on her face. “You shouldn’t keep secrets from your girlfriend, Sana.”

“Momo?”

Both of them stood in shock, their expressions mirroring each other. Momo just jumps on them out of nowhere and she’s fuming, her eyes red from anger.

“What are you doing here?” Sana asked.

“I should be the one asking you that.” Sana sees how she clenches her jaw, trying to control her rage. “How long has it been?”

“What? What are you talking-"

“Oh, stop acting innocent, Sana. You think I didn’t notice the times you’ve been seeing each other behind my back?”

Sana glares back, not liking the implication coming from Momo’s mouth. “I don’t see any wrong with that. She’s my friend, Momo! _Our_ friend!”

“Friends don’t necessarily spend time together without telling the other about it!”

“What? You...” Sana let out an audible gasp. “Are you jealous, Momo?”

“That’s ridiculous!” Momo scoffed. “Why would I be jealous of you two?”

“Then why are you shouting at us like a mad man?”

“Because you’re spending more time with Mina and keeping things from me!”

“Momo, I don’t understa-"

“Why don’t you date Mina instead, huh?! You like her, don’t you?”

Sana was rendered speechless, her mouth mimicking a fish in the water as she tried to form words to counter back. However, their attention shifted towards the sound of shoes running away from the scene. She could only watch helplessly at the disappearing figure of Mina’s back. She turns to Momo with a glare, her head shaking in disapproval.

“Nice move, Momo. You did it again.”

“Why am I the one being blamed here?!”

“You wanna know why?” Sana takes a step forward, “Because of the way you’re acting, Momo!”

“What? I don’t get it-"

“Exactly! You don’t get it because you never try to!” Sana pushes a finger to her shoulder, the girl stumbling back but stands her ground again. “You always use your emotions first, before thinking of the consequences of your actions! You’re so selfish, Momo!”

“Hey! You’re the one who’s being selfish right now! You’re never honest with your feelings just because you don’t want to hurt yourself. But you don’t know you’re hurting others when you’re acting like this, Sana!”

She grimaced, her face apparent with confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about how you’re willingly accepting my feelings when it’s obvious you like someone else!”

“Wha-... What do you mean?”

Momo takes a deep breath before letting the air out with a loud huff. “Forget it.”

Without waiting for her response, Momo turns on her heel and walks away, leaving the still dumbfounded girl to her own thoughts. Sana was still puzzled with what Momo said to her but her legs already have a mind of its own as she follows the trails of the scampering penguin. She had managed to bump into Mina at the entrance of the building, probably about to leave with a bag on her shoulder and teary eyes.

“Mina...” Sana approached the girl, taking her hand carefully. “I’m sorry for what Momo did. I don’t think she meant everything-"

“Stop it.”

“Listen, Mina-"

“I said stop it!” She shouted while harshly pulling her hand away from Sana’s gentle grip. “Stop apologizing for others and admit it was your fault instead!”

“W-What are you...”

“Things would have been better if you hadn’t appeared!”

It’s like a big boulder had fallen on top of her, the weight crushing her body and heart from the devastating truth. Her face fallen, her lips quivering, her fists clenching instinctively as she tries to keep her emotions in control. Mina’s anger quickly faltered to a guilty one as she had barely grasped what she had done, or said.

“Sana, I’m sorry-"

Sana quickly shakes her head, Mina’s heart breaking from the sad smile of the always lively girl. “It’s fine.”

“No, I didn’t mean it, Sana.” She grabs Sana’s arm forcefully, before the latter could escape and run away from her explanation. “It was just a spur of the moment, Sa-chan. I-I didn’t mean for the words to come out like that...”

“Tell me honestly.” Sana said, still with a smile on her face as she forces Mina to look into her eyes. The latter is dreading the way Sana deeply stares into her orbs, as if trying to read through her thoughts and heart. She is afraid if Sana could read her, could read the deepest secret of her heart that no one knows of. The secret that had made her drown in guilt and cried in sorrow each night.

“What is it?” She slightly quivers in hesitation.

“It’s what you really feel, maybe not always, but at one point you do feel like that... isn’t it?”

*

Sana had awakened in the middle of the night, having the same dream again for the third time that month. She hates how drained she feels in the morning, the disturbed sleep not having any effect at all to refresh her mind to a clear state. She had received permission from her mother to skip school that day, the woman was surprised to see the poor state of her daughter with her pale appearance and puffy eyes.

“I’m taking the day off.”

“Eh? Mama, you don’t have to. I’m not sick-"

“Hush. I need a short break anyway.” She warmly smiles at her daughter, patting her head before leaving the room to make a few calls to Sana’s school and her company.

The girl walks out to the living room, sluggishly dragging her feet along the _tatami_ floor, only to absentmindedly bump onto a shelf from her drowsy state, causing some of the things to fall down. She winced from the sharp pain on her arm, rubbing it slowly to ease the pain before her gaze fell on the conspicuous letter among the clutters of things that had fallen. She picks it up gingerly, her eyebrows furrowing as she reads it again, this time with sheer concentration.

There’s nothing new, it is the same offer letter she had found that day. But this time she caught the bold date written at the bottom of it, and her eyes widened. Her chest suddenly feels heavy, her mind replaying again the incidents that had occurred. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself, only to see the face of her father smiling.

_“Remember, Sana... take care of your Mama for me, will you?”_

Her eyes snapped open, the dateline is the first thing she sees. She feels like it was a sign all along; that she doesn’t have to think so hard after all, that she already knows what she needs to do, that things happen for a reason.

Her mother rushed to her side after seeing Sana crouched on the floor, silently holding a letter.

“Are you alright, Sana? What happened?”

Sana raises her head, catching her mother in shock from the tears silently flowing down her face.

“Oh, Sana.” She quickly pulls her crying daughter into a hug, trying to comfort the young girl who clearly looks distressed instead of being in pain.

“Mama?”

“Yes, honey?”

“I’m ready.” Sana swallowed, the words coming out in chokes. “L-Let’s go back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've come to an end to the MiSaMo arc, it seems... or is it? What do you think? There's still many questions unanswered, right? We'll get to that later *smirking evilly* Someone will do a comeback next chapter with her new friends, so please anticipate!! 
> 
> If there's a mimo reader here, do check out my [Yakuza/Ninja AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29090889)
> 
> Thank you for reading and much love from me to my loyal readers!!! Take care and hope you have a nice week! ^^


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Taiwanese-born earned new comrades, both vertically-challenged.  
> Then, a new student arrives...
> 
> "Oh, did I mention she's from Japan?"

A tall girl clad in her school’s tracksuit with her raven hair tied in a pony-tail, raised her red bow parallel to her shoulder’s height while pulling the string to her cheek, an arrow attached. The sound of the string being released filled the silent area, the arrow barely missing the center of the target.

“10!” The coach announced with a clap, “Good job, Chou.”

She released the breath she’s been holding in relief as she observes her accurate shots, a small satisfied smile growing on her face. It was the last arrow, signalling the end of her training. From the corner of her eyes, she catches two figures cheering from behind the window glass pane made for spectators. She watched her friends’ antics with an embarrassed frown, but gave them a wave anyway. She proceeds to her coach after retrieving her arrows on the target board, before listening to her evaluations and dismissed for the day.

“Tzuyu, I think you should stop doing archery.”

The said girl raised a brow questioningly, “Why?”

“You’re going to shot me through the heart someday.” Dahyun wiggles her eyebrows in an annoying way, dramatically re-enacting the way an arrow pierced through her chest. She received a slap in the arm from the laughing Chaeyoung.

“What are you saying? Geez...”

Tzuyu laughs along, finding Dahyun’s cheesy lines to be entertaining. She’s always coming up with these pickup lines and Tzuyu would usually be the receiving end. Chaeyoung is too eccentric to react to her flirting, Dahyun reasoned, the smol cub finding her advances to be comical rather than flirty. 

If one could describe their friendship in one word, it is compatibility. The three of them complement each other in a way that one would be the intermediate of the other. Tzuyu met them during her first year of high school, more specifically during their first PE class of the semester when she had to participate in a sprinting evaluation for her class. 

Tzuyu had an average height before entering middle school but somehow, her height had shot up suddenly out of nowhere. With those long pairs of legs, she can easily outrun her classmates in their sprinting match. She was also considered to be a valuable asset with her natural prowess in sports, having the needed strength and stamina to be in every game. Just name it, basketball, volleyball, soccer; she can play them. Well, except for swimming since she’s had this fear of drowning as a kid. However, due to her reserved nature, Tzuyu had politely declined every invitation of the sports club in her middle school, constantly giving an apologetic bow to her _sunbaes_ for the first two weeks of school each year.

She had become the talk of the school since then, famous for being the “club crusher” due to her adamant refusal to be in any club over the years. Chaeyoung was one of the few interested in her, but they never shared a class together despite being in the same grade. When they started high school, she was ecstatic to know the tall girl is her seatmate, not because she is popular but she has one accomplishment to achieve; to cross out the last bucket list of her middle school year. Well, it was already overdue but it still counts. She made the rules, anyway.

_Chaeyoung was crouched on the ground, properly tying her special edition running shoes again for the third time, but her eyes were actually glued to her prey innocently warming up on the bleachers all by herself._

_The one and only Chou Tzuyu._

_She stood up with a puffed out chest, walking to the starting line with an air of dignity while her classmates cheered for her, some patting her back for encouragement before running off to hide under the tree shades by the bleachers. It was a hot day, and everyone is restless from the heat. But a certain cub is already heating up her engine for her turn to run in the next round. It seems like a competition, when it was just a yearly sprinting evaluation for her PE class. But to Chaeyoung, a practice or a match, she takes pride in her running. She wasn’t called the “lightning Chae-bolt” for nothing. She was the fastest in her track team in middle school, and will keep her record in check in high school too._

_That is, until she was met with the sports prodigy with the longest pair of limbs._

_She knows Chou Tzuyu, also known as the Club Crusher. The name itself made her shudder, not of fear, but excitement. It has been a while since she’s met a worthy opponent and this tol human might be the one she’s looking for. They haven’t talked yet, despite having tables glued next to each other. She was a bit intimidated by Tzuyu’s aura, there was this certain aloof air surrounding the girl that made her unapproachable. However, her eyes gleamed in anticipation when the teacher mentioned her name along with her seatmate for the next round._

_She made small jumps to loosen her muscles and calm her nerves, her eyes caught the tall presence on her side. She turned her head to the girl, the latter staring at her with unreadable eyes. Chaeyoung thought she was looking down at her in mock, and just as she was about to declare war, a loud voice beat her to it._

_“Ha! There’s no way that shorty can beat my speed!”_

_Chaeyoung whipped her head to the group of students lounging on the bleachers, her eyes caught the girl with skin as white as the snow, she thought it was a living doll. She was being hyped up by the others in a somewhat playful argument of who can run the fastest within the first year students._

_“I was the fastest in my previous school, just so you know.”_

_Chaeyoung was seething because first, this person claimed she’s short, and second, she had the audacity to boast about her skill when her turn to run hasn’t even come yet. Who is she, by the way?_

_“Kim Dahyun!”_

_The teacher’s voice boomed, shutting down the noise of the class and making the girl leap in shock as she pointed to herself with a forced grin. “You called for me, saem?”_

_“To the starting line, now!” The female teacher pointed to Chaeyoung’s direction with a deep scowl, clearly irritated by the new girl’s loud voice, not to mention the heat is not helping her already bad mood._

_“What? But–”_

_“NOW!”_

_“Aish, for real...” She groaned, only to receive a whooping cheer from the people circling her as they wish her luck, loudly snickering among themselves at her misfortune._

_She was pretty laidback from Chaeyoung’s observation, not having the slightest concern of the fuming Miss Ham glaring daggers at her. It was just a few days after freshman year started and she had already gained followers from the looks of it._

_“You better watch out.” Dahyun declared, her fingers pointing back and forth between her eyes and Chaeyoung’s. ”I’m gonna leave you in dust.”_

_Chaeyoung can feel a nerve pulsating in her forehead. She was about to retort back, but was interrupted again when the new girl loudly gasped._

_“Omo! You’re tall! Like... so tor? Yanno what am sayin’?” She sputtered in her broken English._

_Tzuyu, who was silently minding her own business and warming up, ducked her head down. She gave the pale girl a deep stare, sizing her up with her usual blank face._

_“You’re just short.” She bluntly said._

_The girl was visibly shocked, her jaw dropping from what she thought was a direct insult to her_ _dignity_ _height._

_“I’m just vertically challenged!”_

_“KIM! You want to start running or what?!”_

_“Yes, saem!”_

_The girls immediately got into the starting position, waiting for the sound of the whistle to begin. The result of the 100m race can already be predicted as the two sports prodigy zipped forward with immense speed, leaving the pale girl behind shouting for them to wait for her. It was just a millisecond apart, but Chaeyoung had successfully finished the race in the first place. She was panting heavily albeit the grin on her face. She turned to her side with a smug, only to see the tall girl wasn’t even sweating. She was looking back at their running partner, concernedly watching the wobbling girl struggling to run._

_“Yah! Huff huff... Why didn’t... huff huff.. you wait–”_

_Tzuyu, who has had her eyes on Dahyun since the start of the run, saw that she had sidetracked, slowly approaching a hidden small hole in the grass field._

_“Watch out!”_

_With long strides, Tzuyu managed to divert Dahyun’s direction from the hole, only for the latter to stumble on her own feet as she clings to Tzuyu’s arm for support. Despite her short stature, Dahyun has quite a heavy built, causing Tzuyu to lose her balance as she tries to save both of them from falling. Chaeyoung, who had also ran to save the tofu girl albeit a tad late, screamed in shock as she was plummeted to the hot ground by the giant and the dwarf._

_“Yah! Get off of me!”_

_“I can’t! My leg is stuck with her long–... stop squirming, you dwarf!”_

_“What?! What did you just call me, you – you, gremlin! Ha, take that!”_

_“What did you–”_

_“Hey, could you guys kindly get off?”_

_“NO!” The small girls yelled to the struggling Tzuyu who tried to untangle her legs from the wiggling shorties, only for a shadow to appear and loom over them in the appearance of their furious PE teacher._

_“YOU THREE! TEACHER’S OFFICE, NOW!”_

_The girls were reprimanded by the PE teacher, visible frowns etched on their faces at the mention of detention after school. Tzuyu was confused why she was included when it was obvious the problem was with the other two but being the reserved girl she is, only kept silent and listened along with the teacher’s scolding._

_The girls grumbled when they met again during detention, except for Tzuyu who casually took a seat on an empty chair and took out her homework. It was silent for a few minutes, both not minding the other’s presence when a loud growl suddenly filled the quiet classroom. Chaeyoung ducked her head in embarrassment, avoiding the amused eyes of one pale girl._

_“Pffft... What was that?”_

_“Shut up, you white tofu.”_

_“Oh, I considered that as a compliment so thank you.” Dahyun made a chef’s kiss sound._

_“A second hand compliment for a cheap person like you.” Chaeyoung smirked, “Suits you well, don’t you think?”_

_“Yah! Take that back, you small gremlin!”_

_“Stop pretending like you’re any taller than me, dwarf!”_

_“If there’s anyone deserving of calling me short, it’s that pole over there!”_

_Dahyun points to Tzuyu, who was cautiously watching their bickering from the corner. The girls waited for her to retort back, but she took out a lunchbox instead and laid it on her table._

_“Um, I still have my lunch so if you want...?”_

_“Oh, food!” Chaeyoung made a beeline towards her table, taking a seat opposite of the wary girl before the other glowers over them._

_“Whoa, that looks good!”_

_“Hey! She’s offering this to me, not you. You’re not the one having a growling stomach... right, Chou?”_

_Chaeyoung turns to Tzuyu with an expectant look, hoping the girl will take her side._

_“Well, I haven’t eaten too so I was wondering if we could share?”_

_Chaeyoung happily agreed, “Of course –”_

_“With the three of us.” Tzuyu stated firmly._

_“Oh.”_

_The girls in front of her exchanged looks, still annoyed with the other’s presence, only to falter when they heard the tall girl say the magic word._

_“Please?”_

_Chaeyoung abruptly stood up, not catching the deep frown of Tzuyu’s face. Dahyun was also feeling a bit guilty from the crestfallen face, only to have a chair shoved to her bum._

_“In case your short legs decided to fail you for standing too long.” Chaeyoung said without making eye contact with the dubu, who was grinning happily from the small gesture._

_Tzuyu watches them in relief before offering her seatmate her pair of chopsticks. She might not show it but Chaeyoung was definitely feeling pleased with the situation. Who knows that their small feud had made her gain new friends, along with getting her bucket list completed for the first time in 16 years._

_That night, she didn’t forget to fill out her worn out notebook, finally succeeding in completing her middle school bucket list._

_Defeat_ ~~_Tol Yoda_~~ _Tzuyu and Dubu in sprinting match:_ **_CHECKED_ **

Since then, they had this unspoken agreement to always share their lunch together. Well, it was mostly Chaeyoung who pestered Tzuyu to give her a bite or two of her meal while Dahyun would pop out of nowhere into their class, shamelessly stealing a random chair and joining their lunch time, uninvited. Not that they mind, since she’s a joyful presence as compared to Tzuyu’s lack of communication and Chaeyoung’s tendency to daydream whenever she can. 

Entering their second year of high school, the trio are inseparable. Their classmates had even made a special name for them; the School Meal Club, which Dahyun had unabashedly declared to be the leader with no room for arguments. Whatever rolls her way, Chaeyoung said.

“I’m still butthurt you refused to join the track team, Tzuyu.” 

“I need the scholarship, Chaeng. You know that as much as I do.”

“We have the scholarship program too!”

The pout on the small girl was too cute, she would have pinched them if her hands were free. Chaeyoung had been persuading her since last year to join their track team, with the reason she’s lonely during practice and there’s not much competition between the team. Truthfully, Tzuyu had considered Chaeyoung’s offer. She likes the feel of wind hitting her face when she’s running, like she’s about to reach the sky and be free from all the hurt in the world.

The only time she feels truly unrestrained from everything. 

Perhaps, that’s the reason she can run fast; there’s nothing to worry about, nothing to think about. She can even beat Chaeyoung’s top speed record easily without even realizing it. But knowing how much Chaeyoung enjoys running and how competitive she can get, Tzuyu opted for the other scholarship program. Archery seems like the perfect match for her, requiring utmost control of her focus and self-control just to strike an arrow. It looks as if it's straightforward for others, but it’s a challenge for the girl who prefers some sort of tranquillity in her life.

“Why didn’t you ask Dahyun?”

“Oh, no thank you.”

The mentioned girl frowned from the dry response. “Yah! I can run too, you know?”

“Yeah, you can.” Chaeyoung clings her arm on Dahyun’s neck. “But you wouldn’t even last a few seconds, Dubu.”

“Get off me!” She shoves the cackling girl away. “I’ll show you how a pro really runs!”

“Oh yeah? Should I give you a few seconds of head start?” 

Tzuyu grins from the side as they bicker. It was harmless, just their usual playful banter that surprisingly deepens their bond. Then she remembered the interview Dahyun had to run off to during lunch break, something about becoming a committee member for the student council.

“Dahyun, how was the interview?”

“Oh! I almost forgot about it.” She pulls out something from her bag, before turning around with a wide grin to proudly show a committee tag. “I got it!”

“Oh, wow! You did? But how –”

“Don’t ask, peasants.” Dahyun made a silent gesture with an air of arrogance. “Just bow to your superior!”

Both of them complied, Chaeyoung making a gentleman-like gesture while Tzuyu gave her a deep bow that could almost break her back, before the smol cub jumped on Dahyun and gave her a noogie.

“You’re just a junior committee, bro! What a rip off!”

Dahyun laughs while pushing Chaeyoung’s strong hands away. “But I’m already assigned a task for tomorrow.”

“Wow, you’re finally being put into good use.” Chaeyoung teased, the pale girl responded with a glare of her own.

“You’re gonna skip lunch again?”

Dahyun almost cooed from the tall girl’s expression as she voiced out her concern with a small pout. She snatches the small duffle bag on Tzuyu’s left hand, exchanging it with her own.

“Nope, I won’t skip our lunch time.” The pout was exchanged with a smile, “But I can’t walk to school together tomorrow morning. A new student is coming and I have to be there early to greet her and give a tour of the school.”

“A new student around this time of the year? That’s weird.” Tzuyu nods along, agreeing with the small cub. They are almost at the start of exam week for the first term of junior year and to have a student transferred in between is unlikely. “It’s going to be hard trying to catch up and familiarizing with the school.”

“That’s when Kim Dahyun will come to the rescue!” She points to herself with a glory stance. “I, the junior committee, will become her first friend and also the hero saving the damsel in distress.”

Chaeyoung lets out a tutting sound while shaking her head, “She’s already planning to replace us with this new girl. We don’t need a leader like her, right Tzu?”

“Hey–!”

“True, I don’t know a Kim Dahyun.” Tzuyu plainly agrees.

“Yah! Not you too, Tzuyu?!”

They both exchanged looks before making a dash from the offended Dahyun, cackling at the girl struggling to catch up with her short limbs while yelling her dissatisfaction in the most polite words she could think of to the devil spawns of a tol yoda and a smol cub.

*

Tzuyu and Chaeyoung were about to start eating their lunch when a panting Dahyun appeared before them with a grin. She makes their trademark salute, her minions following before pulling their leader to quickly sit and eat. Tzuyu picks up a piece of carrot from her lunchbox, ignoring her friends fighting over her last piece of shrimp.

“How was the new girl?” Chaeyoung asked, only to stealthily snatch the shrimp when Dahyun got distracted with the question.

Dahyun pouts. “She’s a bit quiet.” Her eyes followed Chaeyoung’s slow and dramatic movement of putting the shrimp into her mouth. “But she’s okay, I guess.” She gulps when the cub chews with a delighted noise. 

“Yah! Can’t you just eat normally?”

“This is how I normally eat.” Chaeyoung replied while loudly munching, just to annoy the pouting dubu. 

“Here I am, greatly prepared for a new addition to our group, just for naught.” Tzuyu dramatically frowns while lifting her slightly bigger lunch box enough for 4 people. But the food was almost on the brink of disappearing, thanks to her friends owning a black hole in their stomach.

“I did invite her, but she refused.”

“Omo, your Dahyunism charm is failing already?”

“She wants to tour the place again on her own. I got to respect that, bro.”

“Bro...” Chaeyoung awed, only to smirk playfully. “Your charm definitely didn’t work, by the way.”

“I guess she’s having difficulty adjusting.” Tzuyu chimed in, remembering how hard it was for her when she first arrived in this country as a kid. They shared small talks, mostly Chaeyoung making fun of Dahyun’s failed attempt to woo the new kid, as the lunch break ended. The trio was walking back to their class when they heard commotion in the hallway.

“What’s up?” Chaeyoung tiptoed, her hands holding Dahyun’s shoulders for support. The girls exchanged looks before turning their attention to the dumbfounded Tzuyu.

“Tzuyu-yah?” Dahyun grins creepily.

The said girl had her face drained of color as she took a few steps backwards. “No way.”

“Tzuyu, my lovely friend.” Chaeyoung sneered, before trapping the poor tall girl on the wall. “Please be a sweetheart and be our pillar?”

Not wasting time, Chaeyoung quickly grabs her shoulder to hold her in place as Dahyun hoists herself up on Tzuyu’s back. 

“Ugh, I’m going to blame you guys if I have a serious backache before I get old.”

Dahyun gives her a pat on the head, “Stop worrying about the future, Tzu...”

“...and focus on the present!” Chaeyoung ended the sentence, jumping for an attempt of a high five with Dahyun who’s up a few feet above her.

“Oh, it’s her!”

“Who?”

“Mizaki-ssi!” She pointed to the slightly taller than average girl. “These people are shamelessly gawking at her, I think she’s confused and lost.” Dahyun quickly leaps down, landing ungracefully with a loud thud which catches everyone’s attention, silencing the hallway into an awkward stillness.

“See you guys after school? I gotta save the damsel in distress.” Dahyun gives them a wink before puffing her chest proudly with her signature grin.

“Kim Dahyun coming through!” She pushes through the crowd who already recognize the junior mood maker, receiving greetings and friendly waves from a few.

Chaeyoung scoffed with an amused shake of her head, “Show off.”

Tzuyu silently observes as Dahyun approaches the girl with dark brown hair named Mizaki, giving her the most charming smile before leading the girl to their shared classroom at the end of the hallway. She listens to the murmurs of beauty and appealing, mostly students praising and gushing for the newcomer. Being one of the few uninterested in attention and such, probably because she was, or still is, one of the people being talked a lot for her fame and beauty, Tzuyu decides to turn away from the crowd and enter her class with Chaeyoung in tow. 

*

The members of SMC had made an arrangement that every morning they would meet on the last intersection towards school, each coming from different directions. Dahyun was the one who proposed the idea, which was opposed badly by Chaeyoung who always reached the place earlier than the others.

_“My house is closer to school. I don’t want to wait for you when I can have an extra nap before class.”_

_“How dare you! You’d rather sleep than spend time with us, your so-called new friends?”_

_“I never agreed to be your friend. Only Tzuyu." Chaeyoung grinned innocently at the tall girl who smiled back, only to receive a loud dramatic gasp from Dahyun with a hand on her chest._

_“Rude. You’ll regret saying that, Son Chaeyoung!”_

_The cub quirks an eyebrow, “Make me.”_

_Tzuyu silently sighed as the duo bickers, before finally deciding to butt in on their endless heated discussion. “I can make simple breakfast-to-go so we can eat on our way to school... if that’s okay with both of you?”_

_“Oh, ekserent!” Dahyun made a chef’s kiss sound while Chaeyoung clutched herself on the tall girl like a small koala with a wide grin. “Fantastic baby!”_

Things went well after that with Tzuyu’s little bribe arrangement of bringing mostly sweet buns or simple sandwiches for them to munch on. At least, their mouths are full to stop their childish quarrels. They can’t complain with Tzuyu’s range of food selection consisting of her favourite food, not that they have the heart to see the girl’s frown, and they can spare from suffering a growling stomach from the small breakfast before lunch time comes. 

That day however, Tzuyu goes to school alone after having a prior engagement with her grandmother who needs the young girl’s help to carry a few things to her workplace. The old woman had promised some herb saplings for the new tenant she’s working for as a caretaker, the place void of any decorations due to the owner’s sudden arrival last week. Being the health freak and caring old lady she is, her grandmother had offered to bring some pots as welcoming gifts. 

They came to a stop in front of an established condominium complex, Tzuyu watching the tall building in awe. 

“ _You can leave them here, Zi Yu._ ” Her grandmother said in their mother tongue.

“ _Are you sure_?” She asked in concern, cautiously placing the box of pots on the top step of the front lobby’s staircase.

“ _I can ask the guard to help me. A cookie or two shall do the trick_.” Her grandmother winked.

Tzuyu’s eyes sparkled at the mention of her grandmother’s famous homemade cookie. “ _What about me_?”

“ _Yes, yes! You will get your portion at home later. Now shoo! You’re going to be late_.”

“ _Take care, grandma. See you later_!” 

Tzuyu waves back while slowly backtracking to the side road, turning on her heels to blend with the crowd of people with their own destination. She reaches the crossroad, her head poking around to find the two small figures of her bestfriends but finds none. They must have reached school by now, urging the tall girl to take longer and quicker strides to school. 

By the time she reaches the gate, a smile etched on her face at the sight of her sidekicks talking animatedly to someone. She knows the familiar back and the dark brown hair; the new girl. By the look of Chaeyoung’s entranced state, Dahyun is probably introducing them. She doesn’t know why but she has this feeling of wanting to avoid the person everyone’s talking about. 

She noticed how every person passing by the girl would either have their eyes locked on the girl or whispering to their friends while stealing glances at the claimed beauty. It was rude, and Tzuyu doesn’t want to add more attention to the new girl because she knows how exhausting and intrusive it is. Thankfully their interest in her has toned down drastically, the new girl being the latest object of everyone’s admiration. 

She stealthily approached the duo when the girl excused herself, catching them by surprise.

“Morning.”

“Tzuyu! Gosh, stop appearing out of nowhere!”

“Where were you, Yoda? You were just a millisecond late to meet her!”

“Oh yeah, speaking of her.” Chaeyoung abruptly clings to the tall girl, the latter taken aback by the unexpected stunt. “Catch me, Tzuyu! My soul is floating right now!”

“What...?”

“Since you’re a goddess yourself, please make sure my soul reaches heaven. Adios!” The cub pretends to be dead, her body limp.

“Eh? What’s wrong–”

“Ha! Told you she’s beautiful! Right, right?”

Tzuyu huffed loudly, annoyed, before pushing the fainted Chaeyoung to stand on her two feet. “What are you guys talking about?”

“The Fairy of the Rising Sun, of course!”

Tzuyu’s eyebrows furrowed at the long nonsense words, “The... what?”

“The new girl.” Dahyun simply said. She was about to respond, only for Chaeyoung to cut her with a loud, “Wait, she’s a what?!”

“Oh, did I mention she’s from Japan?”

“No.” Both of them deadpanned.

“Chaeyoung, her name screams Japanese!”

She raised her shoulders exasperatedly, “How would I know? I’ve never heard a Japanese name in my whole life, bro!”

“Bro, the surname Minatozaki screams Japanese!”

“You had just barely remembered her name, though!”

The name sounded familiar, Tzuyu thought. She had heard it before, but couldn’t pinpoint where. Maybe it’s one of the villains in the Japanese drama her grandma likes to watch.

“Wasn’t it Mizaki…?” Tzuyu disrupted the quarrel duo, recalling the name Dahyun had mentioned last time.

Before Dahyun can explain, the bell chimes and interrupts their conversation. Dahyun made a dash to her class after shouting that she will tell them later while Tzuyu and Chaeyoung made a small silent competition to see who will reach their table first before taking off to a sprint in the hallway, ignoring the yelling of student representatives to not run in the hallway. 

*

Being a member of the gardening club means she can interact with the animals in the school shelter, despite having zero interest in plants. She only knows the names of plants she can eat and some famous flowers, courtesy of her grandmother. She is not bothered to be acquainted with the rest members of the small garden at the back of the school. But when it comes to animals, she can spew out random facts about a cow no one asked for. 

This place only has a few living creature consists of two pairs of rabbits, a school of koi in the small pond, a pair of egg-laying chickens, an old dog named Kong acting as the caretaker and guardian, and some stray cats loitering around the small coop which the president had declared one afternoon as associates of the gardening club members. Rumour has it that he’s actually a sucker for cats, not that the other mind with the new addition. The more, the merrier, and the happier Tzuyu would be.

She is assigned for duty every Friday all by herself to compensate with her archery practice on other random days. Tzuyu has always loved being in the company of her animal friends. They are great listeners, and sometimes more understanding than her friends (don’t tell DubChaeng that). That day in particular however, she doesn’t feel like talking, rather watching them running and playing around while she feeds them and tends to the garden. 

Suddenly, rain starts pouring when she’s in the midst of feeding Kong. The stray cats had already taken refuge in their usual hiding place, so Tzuyu only needed to cover the plants and coop with the makeshift shade and make sure Kong is warm and dry in his kennel. She made a dash inside after being convinced the animals are safe on their own.

It is already late, only a few students can be seen in the entrance lobby, probably waiting for the rain to subside. It has become heavier by now as compared to the light drizzle earlier. Those few must have come unprepared, Tzuyu thought, unlike her who always has an umbrella reserved in her locker for times like this. She was about to brag to them with a smug face when her eyes caught the lone figure standing in the corner.

She recognized her right away, the dark brown hair which stood out from the rest, an uncommon trait to be found from the locals in this part of town. She studies the girl, her features are indeed pretty just by looking from her side profile. There is a slight tremble on her lips, Tzuyu caught, her eyes falling on the distressed gesture of the girl rubbing her folded arms to keep warm. She’s fidgeting on her feet, and Tzuyu deduced by the determined look on her face and the way she pulls her backpack tighter - she’s going to run through the heavy downpour.

Before she can take a step forward, Tzuyu calls the new girl.

“Hey, wait!” Sensing the call was directed to her, the student turned around. “Here, take this.”

Tzuyu hands out her blue umbrella while attempting to give her the most assuring smile, only that the muscles on her face had failed her. 

Her breath hitched. 

She really shouldn’t have listened to Dahyun because the new girl wasn’t just pretty; she is stunning. 

Tzuyu must have looked like a retard because the girl is giving her a perplexed look before her eyes crinkled into a polite smile.

“It’s fine. You don’t have a spare one, right?” She shakes her head gently with a small smile adorning her already pretty face, making her more breathtaking than before. 

That’s when Tzuyu sees something flashed in her mind, a similar smile of a small girl with chubby cheeks. She had seen them once, perhaps many times before.

“Um, are you alright?” The girl gives her a concerned look, stirring Tzuyu from her trance.

“Take it.”

Tzuyu shoves the umbrella to the girl’s cold hand, before running away under the rain. She ignores the new student calling for her, not sparing a glance to her back as she shoots out of the school’s gate. 

She stops in the middle of nowhere when her lungs decide she’s been running too much, too far. She hunches on the wall, her hand clutching her aching chest, heavily panting for air. She doesn’t know if it was out of lack of air, or out of the throbbing pain in her heart. Her eyes are burning and blurry, she’s confused if it’s from the uncontrollable rain or the tears she’s trying to hold. Despite the sting, she closed her eyes tightly, trying to burn the image of the once familiar face in the darkness behind closed lids. She gasped when the new face replaced it, the resemblance is uncanny.

Her eyes snap open, a hand muffling her gaping mouth. 

It has been a few years, but she can feel it, she knows it. The only person with that same gentle pair of honey brown eyes and gentle smile. Her sobs came out in chokes as the name forced itself out of her quivering lips.

“Sana...” 

_She was young, but not too young to not understand the sadness she felt as her eyes fell on the keychain of the small squirrel. 5 months had passed by in the blink of an eye, but not so much for the 12 years old Tzuyu. She had found out a month after Sana’s absence that Uncle Minatozaki had passed away in an accident. She was heartbroken with the news; the man treats her like his own daughter rather than a fellow neighbour. A better relative than her own back in Taiwan. But she was more devastated by the unknown state of her friend._

_Sana must have been lonely right now._

_Her friend is closer to her father than her mother; something about a Gorgon reincarnation disguising as the woman. They often play together, the three of them, whenever the uncle has a day off. They would randomly play hide and seek, acting out Ultraman scene where uncle would be the Gomora (unwillingly after Sana relentlessly forced him), and sometimes devising a plan for the greatest prank ever just because they were out of games to play, which the victim would be none other than his own wife. Tzuyu can see why Sana loves him more because she too had started to grow attached to him. Sadly, luck never seems to be on her side._

_Tzuyu wondered if she was the cause of uncle’s death. She is after all, the cursed child, the forsaken Chou. She might have been the one who brought misfortune to Sana and her family, like what happened to her own. The thought haunted her every night when she peeks out the window of her bedroom towards the empty house. She might not realize it, but the warm smile had lost its shine and her actions were more aloof rather than the usual cheery Tzuyu. She had grown distant by the day, her grandmother noticed._

_“Zi Yu?”_

_The girl lifted her gaze from the keychain towards the door. “Yes?”_

_“Want to follow me to the market?”_

_The old woman saw the hesitant look of the girl, “Can I pass for today?”_

_“Up to you.” She tried to muster her usual warm smile, “I’m not forcing you or anything, just thought you would love the fresh morning air.”_

_Tzuyu felt guilty with the way her grandmother was looking at her; gentle and understanding. After contemplating for a while, she agreed to follow the old woman. She was silent along the way, the view of her surroundings wasn’t that interesting anymore. The stray thoughts of her memories with Sana seemed to occupy her mind as she walked along the usual route to the street market. It was the same road they frequented together for that one hotteok stall by the road, their favourite treat after helping her grandmother doing some chores._

_Tzuyu was slowly dragging her feet as her eyes fell on the stall, letting out a sigh as they went past the place._

_“Zi Yu.” Her grandmother pulled her hand, waking her up from her reveries. “Can you wait here for a while?”_

_“Where are you going?”_

_“I got some errands to do. Just wait here, okay?”_

_Tzuyu gave her a small nod, taking a seat on the nearby bench along with grandma’s belongings. She absentmindedly watches as people walk past, before looking up at the blue sky. It was a beautiful sight, a wonderful day indeed. Perhaps her grandmother was right, she should be going out often to get some fresh air. She can feel her body relaxing as the cool breeze of spring blows through her hair. At the same time, she felt something cold poking her cheek._

_“Eh?”_

_An ice cream appeared before her eyes as her grandmother offered her one before taking a seat beside her. She stared deeply at the cup of matcha ice cream in her hand. It wasn’t her favourite; it was Sana’s. Everything she does, everywhere she looks, everyday she wakes up, she sees her friend._

_Her Sana-unnie._

_She felt a hand patting her head, whispering comforting words as her sight turned blurry._

_“I miss her, grandma.” She sniffed, “I miss Sana.”_

_“I miss her too, that little rascal.” The old woman snorted while shaking her head. “But I believe we will meet with her again soon.”_

_“You think so, grandma?”_

_“I’m not sure about the future, but there’s no harm in having a little bit of hope. Don’t you think so?”_

_She turned away, thinking about her grandmother’s wise words before agreeing. She just needs to have more faith in Sana and their friendship. She turned back to her grandmother, this time with a determined smile which resulted with a comforting hug from the relieved woman._

_“Be more patient and never lose that smile of yours, Zi Yu.” She pinched the dimpled cheek, “Sana wouldn’t be able to recognize your wrinkly face with that deep frown.”_

_Tzuyu laughed heartily, for the first time since Sana left. She remembered what her friend had taught her when she missed her parents, and decided to do the same for her._

_A year has already passed, Sana still hasn’t come back and Tzuyu is still missing her. However, she never loses hope. She keeps on wishing on the stars, the jar almost filled to the brim. It helps lessen her sadness of not having Sana by her side, the stars replacing the longing little by little. She had made a promise to herself that she will stop wishing when the jar is full, that perhaps she had wished too much that the fairy might be getting tired of reading the same thing every night._

_She had gained new friends along the way, although not as close as Sana. She realized that she’s been holding on to her foolish wish far too long, and things had changed. She needs a change too._

_A few nights later, Tzuyu chose to keep her wishes to herself instead as she screwed the lid of the full jar with difficulty, afraid that she might anger the fairy with her never-ending wishes. She put the jar in one of the shoe boxes she salvaged during her grandmother’s cleaning spree, along with the squirrel keychain. She settled on another promise; that she will always remember her friend but for the time being, she must say goodbye._

_Taking one last look at the squirrel, she whispered with a sad smile before closing the lid and hid it in the darkest corner of her closet._

_“See you later, Sana.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's always this time span in life where you had no memories of, but suddenly they appeared in flashes as you grow up. Have you ever had that moment? Well, Tzuyu here does, hehe...
> 
> If there's a mimo reader here, do check out my [Yakuza/Ninja AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29090889)
> 
> Thank you for reading and have a nice week, folks!

**Author's Note:**

> Do check out my current [MiMo AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25928968/) if you are interested! 
> 
> I'm public-ing (is that even a word) my twitter so you can follow me there: @museybemused in case you want to see me fangirling about twice with my incohereble screams and blabberings.
> 
> Thank you for your comments, subscription, kudos and for even giving this a read. Stay safe and take care <3


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